Puncha harvest set to begin in Kuttanad next week

As per official estimates, 30 harvester machines are available with the authorities for the current season whereas the actual requirement for the season is around 240 machines.

Amidst widespread concerns over fleecing of paddy farmers by harvester operators, harvesting of the ‘puncha’ crop in over 12,300 hectares in the northern and upper Kuttanad regions of Kottayam is slated to begin next week.

Prior to the opening of the season, District Collector P.K. Jayasree convened a meeting of paddy farmers’ collectives and officials of the Agriculture department recently and reviewed the preparations. The meeting also discussed the issues raised by farmers’ representatives regarding exorbitant rates charged by harvester operators.

As per official estimates by the office of the principal agriculture officer, Kottayam, 30 harvester machines are available with the authorities for the current season. The actual requirement for the season is around 240 machines.

“Steps have been taken to source machines from the private sector to meet the requirement during the peak season. On the other hand, panchayat-level committees have been entrusted with the task of sorting out all issues pertaining to the procurement of the crop by rice mill units,” says Geetha Varghese, principal agriculture officer, Kottayam.

As against the previous year, the puncha season this time is scheduled to be completed by April 25 as several of the farmers have used short-duration variety to make up for the time lost due to the extended rain, she added.

While the government has fixed a tariff of ₹1,900–₹2,100 per hour for the harvesters, official sources concede that the cost may shoot up by at least ₹200 per hour in case of summer rains. “Rains will leave the farmers with no option but to complete the harvest at the earliest and even if the operators bargain hard for higher rates, the scope for our intervention will be limited. Also, the farmers have to transport these machines on their own, which will add to the cost,’’ pointed out an official.

Meanwhile, hundreds of paddy farmers in the region are anxiously waiting for the payment for paddy procured during the previous season. While about 23,000 tonnes of paddy was procured from the region, around ₹33 crore is currently due to the farmers.