Thanjavur: Delay in Cauvery water release puts paddy cultivation at risk
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There is a new threat to global food security, and it stems from fears that India’s rice cultivation may not meet expectations. These apprehensions come even as RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das highlighted the shortfall in paddy sowing, although buffer stocks remain above par. However, the question remains: what ails India’s paddy crop?
In Thanjavur, a town in East-Central Tamil Nadu, the Kuruvai cultivation is about to end. The Tamil word refers to a short-term harvest that takes place over a four-month period between May and August.
During this season, 3.2 lakh acres of paddy are sown along the banks of the River Cauvery in this region, better known as of one of India's biggest rice bowls. This year, water from the Cauvery didn't make it to these fields on time, leaving the cream of the crop to wither away.
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On average, the Kuruvai Crop sown in the Cauvery Delta, has a lifecycle of 120 days, 80 of which require water in abundance. The problem is that it also precisely during this period that the water needed for crops collects in catchment areas within Karnataka.
By the time water is released to Tamil Nadu's agrarian districts, it is available for only about 30 days — at irregular, unpredictable intervals. The delay spells disaster for Tamil Nadu's paddy fields, many of which do not have the support of artificial irrigation systems.
“In some places our paddy seedlings were charred because there was not enough water to keep it alive till the harvest,” says TP Sukumaran, a Thanjavur-based farmer, “Today, water is being released in the Cauvery because of surplus rainfall in Karnataka, but it’s of no use and ends up being let into the sea”.
The signs of wilting grain are ubiquitous. A herd of cattle grazes on dead paddy crop strewn along several dry tracts of land, as a farmer helplessly gestures at his two acres laid to waste. With the Cauvery aqueducts staying dry for two months, Rajavel won't sell any paddy this year.
The fact that crop insurance does not cover the Kuruvai harvest because of the risks involved is salt on his wounds. "We suffered major losses on the Kuruvai harvest last year as well, but we haven't received any insurance pay-out yet,” he says, “We have paid up all our premiums and are repaying our crop loans till date”.
To get around the problem, some farmers tried to delay sowing their paddy. But other factors like the onset of the North East Monsoons have ruined their harvest. Then there are rules — like the Paddy Procurement Policy which mandates that crops brought to procurement centres not have more than 17 percent moisture.
That is near-impossible once monsoons set in, which means many of the sacks that make it to these centres are rejected. “An acre can supply us 40 sacks of rice, but today we just about manage 30 bags because of damage due to rains and rejected stocks,” says G Swaminathan, a farmer from the Cauvery Delta region.
“The North East Monsoon comes at the time of harvesting the Kuruvai,” says Swamimalai Vimalnathan, Secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers Protection Association. “We are facing problems because we are not able to bring the grain from the fields to the direct purchase centres,” he adds, “We are losing our grains”.
Farm associations say the only way forward is if the government intervenes to get Cauvery water released on time. The Supreme Court ruling on the Cauvery crisis between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu mandates that 177 thousand million cubic feet (TMCFT) of Cauvery water be released into Tamil Nadu every season, but Karnataka claims this can't happen unless its own reservoirs fill up first.
Harvesters now want lift and tunnel irrigation channels, to save the crop. “The water disputes act is very clear — the tail-end area beneficiaries should be given priority,” says Vimalnathan, “But that is not happening”.
The Tamil Nadu Government has not committed to state-level intervention, but has promised compensation for farmers with crop losses.
“As things stand today, the Kuruvai sowing and transplanting process has come to a close,” says MRK Panneersevlam, Tamil Nadu’s minister for agriculture and farmer welfare, “We understand there are issues with insurance pay-outs for certain farmers, and are looking at compensating them through the disaster relief route”.
The assurance still does not address the delay in release of Cauvery water. This season, the area under paddy cultivation in the Cauvery Delta has increased from 3.2 lakh acres to 5.2 lakh acres. This only means that the stakes are higher than ever before, especially since the uncertainties have not diminished in any fashion.
First Published: Aug 17, 2022 5:58 PM IST
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