Extended drought followed by unseasonal rain have taken a toll on the farming community in Tamil Nadu. With the North-East monsoon hitting the northern districts, farmers recovering from one of the worst dry spells in over a century find their mature crop under water. In the southern part of the State, the losses of the previous seasons continue to affect operations.

S Nanjilnathan used to own a 2-acre farm in Tirunelveli district. The 75-year-old grew pulses and millets till last year. Now, he is a watchman at a wind farm making about ₹70 a day. He blames two failed monsoons and mounting debt for his situation.

P Velmayil, District Secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, says, “This is common among farmers in the district.” Many have, like Nanjilnathan, either sold their land or abandoned them for jobs on construction sites or wind farms.

Paddy is a major crop in Tirunelveli district and is grown on 84,825 hectares followed by millets and pulses. The district receives rainfall from both the South-West and he North-East monsoons giving an average rainfall of 814 mm when the planting for Kar (May-June) and Pishanam (October) is carried out. But in 2016-17 both the monsoons failed with a rainfall of 396.95 mm, the lowest recorded in the last 15 years.

R Kasamuthu, Secretary, Tirunelveli District Farmers’ Association, said that because of such low rainfall and excessive heat most crops withered during the 2016 Kar season. By the time of the Pishanam season, even the nursery beds had dried up. “Farmers spent close to ₹5,000 per acre readying their field,” he added. The Kar season in 2017 was no better as there was no water in the dams and groundwater level was at the lowest. Even wells had dried up. “So most farmers gave up,” he added.

Velmayil says: “Though the drought relief fund was sanctioned, the majority of the farmers are yet to get them. Even the few who got it say it was only for one season.”

Even the insurance premium the farmers paid are yet to reach them. So far, the farmers have paid a premium of close to ₹3 crore. Kasamuthu laments that even as the farmers are yet to get back the crop insurance for 2016-17, the deadline to pay the premium for 2018-19 is nearing. “The monsoon was already a month late. We are just getting ready for sowing. It is difficult for us to pay by November 30 when we have already borrowed for this season. It (the premium deadline) needs to be extended,” another said.

Farmers in the area have incurred losses of ₹30,000 per acre in each season and have taken on significant debt due to crop loss. Velmayil said while bigger farmers are able to get loans, for the small farmer, it is a challenge.

Velmayil said, “Unless government steps in to ease the loan process and regularise the prices, farming will never be profitable,” he said.

Water-logged fields

For S Thamizhvanan, a groundnut farmer from Vellore district, recovering from last year’s drought, the copious North-East monsoon has come as some consolation. He was in a rush to harvest to avoid rain damage to his mature crop. M Pitchandi of Kandaneri Kannikapuram village in Vellore, said that last year the groundnut crop withered away and this time it is under water. The yield is down by half to 400 kg/acre. Labourers engaged for harvesting have taken away half the output, he said.

Both blame the government’s rural employment guarantee scheme that has made farm labour scarce and expensive. During the harvest season at least the government scheme has to be suspended, they say.

Rukmangada Reddy from neighbouring Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, finds it convenient to bring his produce to the Vellore market. The season started out dry three months back and he left nearly one-fourth of his plot fallow as there was not enough water. “Three months later I was standing in water while harvesting paddy and nearly half the produce was lost,” he said.

His is a one-man operation. “My son works for an automobile spare-parts company and my daughter is working in Hosur. He has one more daughter studying for MBA. “They are not keen on working on the farm,” he smiles.

(With inputs from R Balaji)

This is the twelfth in a series on Farm Distress. The first report appeared on November 16.The previous article in the series appeared on November 28 on Maharashtra’s soyabean farmers.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW