Paddy farming at a crossroads Premium

Struggles of Kerala paddy farmers amid declining yields, procurement issues, and government policies, impacting livelihoods and agriculture sector.

On the quiet banks of the Pampa river at Thakazhi in Alappuzha district, a modest, weathered building buzzes with activity. In the heart of Kuttanad, a wetland ecosystem historically popular as Kerala’s rice bowl and spread across Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts, a group of seasoned paddy farmers have gathered to collect paddy seeds, offered free of charge by the government, for the upcoming puncha (summer/crop-II, November-April) season. The farmers, following their regular preparations, ready themselves for another season in the ever-challenging world of paddy cultivation.

“These days, there is no guarantee of recovering the money spent on paddy cultivation, let alone making a profit,” says Mathew Thomas, a veteran paddy farmer, as he loads sacks of paddy seeds into a vehicle. 

Thomas cultivated paddy on 5.5 acres during the last puncha season but incurred significant losses which led him to skip farming in the subsequent crop season (crop-I, May-October). “Poor rainfall and intense heat affected the crop. The average yield I got was only one tonne per acre, far below the 2-2.5 tonnes I used to harvest from an acre during normal puncha seasons. A yield of more than 1.5 tonnes per acre is essential just to cover the production cost,” Thomas explains. 

Santhosh K., another farmer, says his average yield was 700 kg per acre. “There was a time when a family could make a living by cultivating paddy, but that is no longer possible. Paddy farming is becoming increasingly unprofitable. Why do I still cultivate paddy? The answer is sheer passion,” says Santhosh. 

A few hundred metres from the seed distribution centre lies the 320-acre Aivelikkad paddy polder situated below sea level between the Pampa and Manimala rivers and accessible only by boat. After skipping the recent crop cycle (crop-I), the polder, where 144 farmers cultivate paddy, is filled with water in preparation for the puncha season.

“It was the first time in recent history that we completely abandoned paddy cultivation in the additional (crop-I) season, having suffered huge losses in the puncha season due to poor yield,” says Chackappan Antony, president, Aivelikkad paddy polder.

According to him, the majority of farmers at Aivelikkad harvested less than 1.5 tonnes per acre in the puncha season. He says that a yield of one tonne per acre fetches ₹28,200, while the cost of cultivating one acre of paddy is around ₹35,000 [the cost of paddy farming is higher in this region due to its geographical peculiarities]. “We hope that nature will be kinder this season,” Antony says.