The Hindu Business Line : Kerala rice production on decline

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Thiruvananthapuram Jan. 29 The area under paddy, the main food crop of Kerala, has come down significantly over the years, which has led to the State depending more and more on outside supplies to meet its domestic requirement of rice.

In 2005-06, the total area under paddy stood at 2.76 lakh hectares as against around 7.53 lakh hectares in 1961-62. This means the State witnessed a decrease of 63 per cent in paddy area over a period of 44 years, according to the latest report of the Department of Economics and Statistics.

The total production of rice has also come down in tandem: it stood at 6.3 lakh tonnes in 2005-06 compared to 13.39 lakh tonnes in 1981-82. Thus, over a period of 24 years, the rice production has fallen by more than 50 per cent. At 6.3 lakh tonnes as on the last count, it can meet only around one-fifth of the State's total annual consumption of 30-lakh tonnes.

Land use

The area under paddy in 2005-06 was 21 per cent of the total food crop area in the State and Palakkad district ranked first in terms of the cultivated area, followed by Alappuzha district. Low profitability appears to have caused the shifting of paddy lands to various other crops and for non-agricultural purposes, says the report.

On the other hand, there has been a rise in the area under coconut in the State. It increased from 5.05 lakh hectares in 1961-62 to 8.98 lakh hectares in 2005-06. Kozhikode district came first with 14.5 per cent of the total area under coconut, followed by Malappuram (12.6 per cent), Pathanamthitta (2.3 per cent) and Wayanad (1.3 per cent).

OTHER CROPS

There has been a substantial drop in the area under groundnut. From 15,993 hectares in 1961-62, the area has come down to 3,299 hectares in 2005-06.

Similarly, the area under sesamum has shrunken in all districts and its cultivation may come to a halt in the State within a few years, the report says.