Unseasonal rain casts a cloud over farming communities in Wayanad

Expectations of a good coffee, pepper and paddy harvest have been dealt a body blow by the unseasonal rain lashing Wayanad

Expectations of a good coffee, pepper and paddy harvest have been dealt a body blow by the unseasonal rain lashing Wayanad, a major robusta coffee growing region in the country. The rain that lashed the district during the past five days has heightened farmers’ concerns about timely disposal of produce.

Incidents of harvested paddy getting soaked in unexpected rain were reported from various parts of the district including Thirunelly, Thrissilery, Appapara, Kozhuvana, Panavally, Kallur, Panamaram, Chekadi, Pakkom, and Cheeral. Several farmers in Thirunelly harvested the crop around seven days ago, but they were forced to keep it in the field itself as they could not thresh the produce, T. Santhosh Kumar under the Thirunelly Padashekhara Samithi, said.

Most farmers have cultivated traditional tall rice varieties such as Gandhkassala, Jeerakassala, Thondy, and Palthody by following the organic way.

Mr. Santhosh cultivated mainly the Gandhakassala variety on six acres. The farmer had spent around ₹40,000 for the cultivation of an acre, but he is not sure that he can recoup even half the amount. “We have to spend at least ₹10,000 more this year to process paddy and dry the rain-soaked hay,” Mr. Santhosh said. Farmers in the area prefer to cultivate the tall varieties since they have good demand and better prices in the market, especially for making huts in resorts,” he added.

But the lodging nature of tall varieties of rice plants during rain is a major concern for farmers, Mr. Santhosh said. Once the plants are lodged, farmers cannot use combined harvesters to harvest the crop. Manual harvest is more expensive. The dearth of skilled workers has also put farmers in a tight spot, he added.

Most farmers have insured their paddy crops by paying a premium of ₹100 an acre but they may not benefit from it as standing crops alone come under the purview of insurance. Hence, the farmers have urged the government to pay compensation by including crops destroyed in natural calamities.

Though combined harvesters were brought to the district from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka a few weeks ago, the machines were yet to be operated due to the unseasonal rain.