Kuttanad farmers brace for Puncha cultivation

Paddy farmers in Kuttanad and the district official machinery are
racing against time to catch up with the 'puncha' season, which fell
behind schedule by nearly a month after rains threw preparations off
track in October.The season, which witnesses the largest acreage of
paddy cultivation in the district, with around 25,000-plus hectares in
comparison with the 10,000-plus acreage for the additional and second
round crop, was scheduled to begin by October 15 as per the
agricultural calendar drawn out by the Agriculture Department.However,
incessant rains forced farmers to defer their plans and in some cases,
to start from scratch. The harvest of the 'puncha' crop, if everything
had gone by schedule, would begin in early March, just in time to
avoid summer rains from affecting the ripe crop.With the October rains
playing spoilsport, farmers are now a worried lot and are trying their
best to speed up the preparatory processes. According to Principal
Agriculture Officer P.S. Soman, there was a crucial two-week delay in
over 50 per cent of the padasekharams where sowing was scheduled to
begin by October 15.In areas where the seeds were already sown, rains
submerged the fields, leading to decay of the seeds. The department
had to replace these seeds and farmers have carried out sowing for the
second time. "In areas where sowing was supposed to begin by November
15, there has been a delay of about 10 days. Attempts are on to catch
up with the schedule as fast as possible," Mr. Soman said, adding that
efforts to ensure adequate fertilizers by the first week of December
were on.District Collector V.K. Balakrishnan has forwarded to the
government a proposal for a compensation package to farmers of the
Purakad 'kari' fields who faced losses after the October rains.He said
that the district administration was doing all that was possible to
get the 'puncha' schedule back on track. "Wherever bunds are
necessary, they are being built. If any bunds are breached, they are
being repaired immediately. Farmers will be given all necessary help,"
Mr. Balakrishnan said.

The Hindu, 25th November 2008