Harvest and procurement of paddy cultivated in the 'puncha' crop season (first crop season) are inching closer to completion in Alappuzha.
The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) has so far procured 97,749.8 tonnes of paddy from the district, mainly from Kuttanad. Supplyco is expecting to purchase another 1,500 tonnes before the end of the season.
This season, the rain has hampered the entire process. "With rain staying away, we have hastened paddy procurement in recent days. On Sunday, the Supplyco procured 387 tonnes. Another 150 tonnes will be purchased on Monday. Of the total area under cultivation, only around 500 hectares spread across 21 paddy polders are there left to be harvested. The entire harvest and procurement are expected to be completed in the next couple of weeks," said Anil K. Anto, Paddy Marketing Officer.
The Supplyco has so far distributed ₹177.91 crore as procurement price to 13,609 farmers.
The paddy output in the district is set to witness a significant decline of roughly 25% to 30% compared with the 2020-21 puncha crop season. Last season, the production stood at 1.37 lakh tonnes.
As per the data, paddy was sown in over 26,500 hectares spread across some 600 polders this season in the district. Supplyco was expecting to procure 1.2 lakh tonnes to 1.3 lakh tonnes of paddy from Alappuzha. But Mr. Anto said the total procurement at the end of the season would be less than 1 lakh tonne as per their revised assessment.
The paddy farmers in the region suffered huge losses after heavy downpours lashed the district in April and May. Meanwhile, a breach in the outer bund of the 100-acre Chirakuzhi paddy polder at Haripad on Saturday submerged harvest-ready crops.
