The Hindu Business Line : Kuttanad paddy farmers in debt trap

The paddy farmers of Kerala's rice bowl, Kuttanad, are in a debt trap, as to repay one loan they are taking another and thus their debt burden is swelling year after year. The net income a farmer gets was only Rs 5,625 from a hectare for his subsistence, as the family does not have any other alternative source of income.

"Naturally the farmer was unable to repay the loan, as he requires a minimum amount of Rs 36,000 for the yearly subsistence of his family," Father Thomas Peelianickal, Executive Director, Kuttanad Vikasana Samithy, told Business Line.

As a result, so as to avoid the legal actions from the part of the bank, the farmer takes another loan from some private moneylenders to pay the interest portion of the loan and renews the loan or the bank renews the defaulted loan along with the interest due as a fresh loan, he said.

"Year by year, loan amount and interest accumulates," he pointed out. For the sake of continuing his cultivation, the farmer, as a last resort, approaches the private moneylenders who charge even up to 72 per cent. "This way most of the farmers in Kuttanad happened to be in debt trap," he said.

Yield declining

Paddy cultivation is the main agricultural activity in this region, the granary of Kerala, and it is the only sustainable means of livelihood for thousands of small and marginal farmers and agricultural labourers. Due to various reasons that are not within their control and the farmers are facing heavy losses and adversaries. The average paddy land holding per family is only one hectare.

The cost of cultivation per hectare would come to around Rs 15,000. The level of paddy productivity is declining year after year and at present the yield per hectare is about 3,750 kg.

Till 2005, the selling price of the paddy was just Rs 550 a quintal and the farmer was getting only Rs 20,625 as price from one hectare.

However, from 2006 onwards when the state government intervened in procuring paddy from farmers, the price was fixed at Rs 850 a quintal. But the drying expenses, transportation cost both by water and road and loading and unloading charges have to be met by the farmers, which come to around Rs 3,000 for paddy from one hectare, he said. The total selling price is Rs 31,875 while the total expenses come to Rs 18,000. Thus, the net income from hectare is only Rs 13,875, which is again inadequate for the subsistence of the whole family.

Only paddy

The Land Utilisation Act of Kerala permits only paddy cultivation and not any other crop in the paddy fields. Farmers have no other farming alternative. Expecting a better yield every time they are continuing cultivation in spite of the losses incurred at previous times. The situation forces the farmers to go for un-remunerative rice farming repeatedly incurring irreparable loss, he said.

Rice being the staple food of the people of Kerala, and Kuttanad being famous for red-rice varieties, paddy cultivation in this region is to be continued and encouraged by the government, as it is a question of food security, Father Thomas pointed out.

A hectare of paddy field can provide about 100 labour days during six months. Any shortage in the cropping area or fallowing of land will affect the agricultural labour segments also, he said.

The unscientific and anti-environmental developmental projects implemented in Kuttanad brought serious environmental problems and setback on the farming sector. The heavy and constant crop failures are imposed upon the farmers by these government interventions. Therefore, the government itself has a moral obligation to compensate the losses of the farmers and rectify the anti-farmer situations, he added.

The Centre had appointed Dr M.S. Swaminathan as Chairman to conduct a " Kuttanad Study" and the Samithy had already submitted an Action Plan to him to save the farmers from their plight, he said.

Meanwhile, when such a precarious situation prevails the government now has decided not to procure paddy from the farmers who had cultivated it in leased fields.

The Kuttanad Vikasana Samithy, he said, is planning to launch an agitation against this attitude of the government.

More Stories on : Rice | Natural Calamities | Kerala | Farm credit

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