Even as the northeast monsoon is likely to begin in a few days, even a modest harvest of the samba/thaladi crops in Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery delta region looks remote. Around 4.19 lakh acres of land has so far been covered in the current season. In the corresponding period last year, at least 2.5 lakh acres more was planted. It was about 6.88 lakh acres.
As more water release from the Mettur dam looks uncertain, farmers in the delta districts rely only on nature’s bounty. With no water released for irrigation, the dam’s storage was about 15.8 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) on Friday morning against the capacity of 93.47 tmc ft. A normal northeast monsoon will yield 45 tmc ft in the Cauvery river system.
Asked about any possible increase in the extent of coverage, C. Ramasamy, former Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, shoots back, “When farmers themselves are not sure whether or not there will be sufficient rain in the coming weeks, what is the use in enhancing the coverage?”
Even to sustain the crops until the harvest, there should be enough water. “When the Mettur dam does not have water, you need to depend only on the northeast monsoon, which is known for its unpredictability. I am afraid that it may even be difficult to protect the crops.” Only those who have access to groundwater may go in for the late samba short-duration crop. But their share will only be marginal, he reckons. A seasoned water expert says that at best, the coverage may touch six lakh acres. But this calculation is predicated on a favourable monsoon.
Contending that the farmers are facing serious challenges this time in getting water, P.R. Pandian, a farmers’ leader, says they also find it difficult to get crop loans from cooperative institutions, which, according to him, are not keen on lending because of an uncertain future. So, the government should immediately announce a financial package that includes a production incentive. As for this year’s kuruvai, the extent of area harvested was about 3.87 lakh acres, as on October 17, whereas the coverage was nearly 5.6 lakh acres.
V. Sathyanarayanan, a Tiruvarur-based farmer, has appealed to the government to ease norms for compensation to be paid for crop losses during the kuruvai cultivation season. Pointing out that even during the kuruvai season, many farmers have been raising a long-term crop (of 150-160 days), he says most of this crop has withered this time for want of water, and removal of weeds will be costly. In such circumstances, the present scheme of compensation should cover those who have lost their long-term crop.
