Amidst gloomy economic scenario there is cheerful news coming from rural Tamil Nadu as the State is likely to witness a higher agriculture production this crop year (July 2020 to June 2021) due to the timely opening of the Mettur dam on June 12, coupled with good seasonal rain in catchment areas.

Government officials and farmers in the Cauvery Delta region, the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, are anticipating a good yield next year.

“After nearly 30 years, we expect a bountiful production this year,” said S Prabhu, Agri CEO of Needamangalam Collective Farming Farmers Producer Company Ltd, in Tiruvarur district.

Decline in production

Food grain production in the State touched a record 12.97 million tonnes (mt) during 2014-15. Since then, production had declined to a low of 5.23 mt during 2016-17 as farmers skipped the Kuruvai crop due to scarse water.

However, thanks to the timely release of water from Mettur dam — the largest irrigation dam and most crucial source of water for the Cauvery delta — in June this year, farmers have put to use their full land capacity. In the past, if a farmer had 5 acres (in June or July) he would have planted paddy in only 2 acres due to shortage of water. However, this year, he has planted in all the 5 acres, said Prabhu.

Last year, the Delta region cultivated 2.90 lakh acres with the crop yield being 4.99 lakh tonnes of rice. However, this year, the opening of water from Mettur dam on time will help paddy cultivation in 3.25 lakh acres with yield expected to be around 5.60 lakh tonnes, said Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami while announcing the opening of water from the dam.

This year, the target is to achieve production of nearly 28 lakh tonnes of paddy of which 22.81 lakh tonnes will be procured directly from the farmers, he said.

In Tamil Nadu, kuruvai cultivation happens during June and July in detal regions of Thanjavur; Tiruchirapalli; Tiruvarur; Mayiladuturai and Nagapattinam Nagai, and in certain parts of Cuddalore and Ariyalur.

In Tiruchirapaalli, kuruvai paddy cultivation is expected to increase to 4,800 hectares this year from 3,300 hectare last year. At present, 15,000 cusecs of water is being released into the Cauvery from Mettur Dam, said a government official.

Good rain and storage

“We are on track for a good crop this year due to good rain and storage. Availability of adequate seeds and fertilisers and constant hand holding of farmers will also help in good crops,” he said.

In Tamil Nadu, three crops are cultivated beginning in June with the short-term Kuruvai crop (sowing in June and harvest in August-end); long-term Sambha crop from August to December and Navarai for which sowing takes place in January. “We will opt for all the three crops after a gap of three years,” said Ganesan, a farmer in Tiruvarur.

In view of good storage this year, water was let out on time and they have gone for the first crop. Whatever water is in the storage will help the next crop for which sowing will begin shortly. Since the North-East monsoon will set in October or later, they will certainly go for the third crop too, he said.

State government data shows that out of the 15 reservoirs, the current storage in 11 are well above last year’s storage at this time of the year. In most of the reservoirs, the storage is at least 50 per cent higher than the same period a year ago.

As of Tuesday morning, at the Mettur Dam, the storage was 13,523 million cubic feet (mcft) against 8,732 mcft on the same day last year.

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