KASARAGOD
A decision by farmers of Kotholi-Madivayal Padasekharam in Pilicode grama panchayat in the district to cultivate Manu Varna variety of rice developed by the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) in 2019, has turned sour as they suffered a huge yield loss due to rice blast, a fungal disease affecting paddy.
The affected farmers said that the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) attached to the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) in Kasaragod had distributed the seeds free of cost assuring them that Manu Varna, cultivated for the first time in the district, was a high yielding variety. All the assistance and monitoring to cultivate the rice was assured..
A total of 32 farmers came together to cultivate the rice variety on 30 acres of land in December last.
Now, the farmers feel that they were cheated with false promises. “The officials have turned their back on us,“ alleged C. Raghunathan, secretary, Kotholi-Madaivayal Padasekharam.
He said the crop was affected when it was the time for harvest.
Many had cultivated it by taking land on lease. They had invested ₹40,000 per acre of land, Mr. Raghunathan said.
“Now, we have neither rice nor will we get a compensation,” he said, adding that many farmers were out of insurance coverage as the lease agreement for the land had no legal validity.
K.P. Ramachandran, another farmer, said that before they were using Ezhome II and Swarna Shreya rice varieties. “However, KVK officials approached us and gave about 940 kg of seed free,” he said.
The officials promised all support, but after a few visits they never turned up here, Mr. Ramachandran rued.
“We feel cheated and have decided to raise the issue with the Central and the State governments,” he said.
Incidentally, the farmers in Wayanad, who used Manu Varna, on 240 acres last year, faced a similar ordeal.
T.S. Manoj Kumar, head of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, CPCRI, said that the district level multidisciplinary diagnostic team had visited the fields. They would submit a recommendation. Similarly, an expert committee had been formed by the KAU to look into the issue.
Mr. Kumar said it was the latest seed variety introduced after several studies. The paddy crop had been affected by a disease and the university was looking into the issue. Whether the problem arose due to the seed or any other reason had to be understood, he said.
