A Ramasamy (63), a farmer in Innambur village near Kumbakonam in the Cauvery delta in Tamil Nadu, recalls the time when he and other farmers in the village used to raise multiple crops during a year. However, with erratic monsoons and scanty rains, farming has been difficult for the past several years.
“Now, nobody wants to takes the risk of growing different crops. With the shortage of water, less rains and shortage of labour, most of us here grow only paddy, which fetches a reasonable revenue. Though, many of us have wells, water scarcity is a major issue during the summer months,” he says.
While farmers like Ramasamy in the northern parts of the Delta region manage to raise paddy supported by borewells, farmers in the southern parts have suffered a double whammy this year.
Insufficient rains, coupled with the havoc created by cyclone Gaja, caused huge damage in many districts of the region as paddy, cashew, banana and other horticulture products were completely destroyed. What’s worse, they cannot grow the summer crop either this time.
“There was about 27 per cent deficiency in rains this time. Usually, water levels start declining only after April in the delta region, but this time it started in February itself. There is no water in tanks, ponds and lakes in the region,” says Swamimalai R Vimalanathan, general secretary of the Thanjavur District Kaveri Farmers’ Protection Association.
He pointed out that farmers in the region would always be keen on growing crops during the summer. With no insects and pest attacks in summer, they typically aim for a bumper harvest. But this time, it is a bleak scenario for most .
“The rains were inadequate both for summer crops and water recharge in the region,” says R Vinoth (29), a farmer in a village near Kumbakonam. He has chosen to grow paddy on only half of his holdings this time due to less-than-usual water in his irrigation well. “We had one full-day rain, starting from early morning to night, this year and then there was absolutely no rain. Farmers are dependent on borewells for their crop cultivation,” says Vinoth, who is associated with Magasool, an NGO that works on helping small farmers improve productivity.
He points out that his village and nearby areas were known for radish cultivation till some years ago. But due to challenges in raising the crop and poor revenues, people shifted to paddy, which is seen as low-risk crop despite huge water requirements.
Vimalanathan said that while monsoons have become erratic, proper planning, desilting of lakes, ponds, temple tanks and restoration of water reservoirs would go a long way in helping farmers in the future.
The State government has declared 24 districts as drought-affected. Plus, close to 40 blocks in seven districts have also been declared drought-hit .
The State government has set aside ₹1,200 crore to provide assistance of ₹2,000 to 60 lakh poor families in the state as a measure to help the people impacted by Cyclone Gaja and the prevailing drought.
Crop insurance
Tamil Nadu has benefited from the Centre’s crop insurance scheme — Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Before joining the scheme, about eight lakh farmers used to get their crops insured every year in the State. During a normal drought year, the compensation was in the region of ₹500-₹600 crore. But after being a part of the PMFBY, the number of farmers getting their crops insured has risen to more than 20 lakh a year, well higher than the all-India average.
In 2016-17, Tamil Nadu faced an unprecedented drought and the State managed to get a sanction of ₹3,500 crore of which ₹3,400 crore were fully disbursed, helping lakhs of farmers in the State.
This is the seventh part in the Drought series. The previous report appeared on April 17