Chennai, March 10 After experiencing Samba paddy crop failures for the third consecutive year, farmers in Tamil Nadu’s delta region have urged the Stalin government to introduce new high-yield paddy varieties.
They have also appealed for full insurance coverage for the current season’s crop losses, as existing varieties, including the widely used CR 1009, failed to produce the expected yield.
Farmers typically expect a yield of 2,400 kg to 6,000 kg per hectare (40 to 100 bags, each weighing 60 kg). However, this season, they managed only 900 kg to 1,500 kg per acre (15 to 25 bags), with an average of 1,200 kg.
The farmers attributed the poor yield to unpredictable and untimely rainfall. According to Swamimalai Sundara Vimalanathan, a leader of Cauvery Delta farmers, heavy rain hit the region 10 days after transplantation, causing significant damage to young nurseries. Despite farmers’ efforts to replant, another spell of rain led to further losses. Additionally, heavy downpours in the last week of December 2024 affected grain development, resulting in an overall decline in food production across Tamil Nadu.
Though the state government ensured timely water release, erratic rainfall significantly reduced yields, causing financial distress for farmers.
According to Rajashekharan, another farmer leader from the delta region, farmers spent between Rs 35,000 and Rs 45,000 per acre but lost at least Rs 20,000 per acre due to the low yield.
Mariappan, a farmer, pointed out that each paddy stem should ideally contain 220 grains, but this season, they could only find 100 to 120 grains per stem.
Most farmers in the region cultivate CR 1009, a high-yielding variety resistant to floods and droughts. Others grew varieties like ADT 51, ADT 46, ADT 39, ADT 38, IR 20, CO 43, CO 46, Bhavani, MDU, and TRY, but none met the expected yield this year.
Mariappan urged the government to introduce new paddy varieties that offer higher yields and greater resilience to natural calamities.
Farmers also complained about insurance claim rejections, despite insuring their crops on time. He noted that damage assessments are done at the revenue village level, covering around 15 hamlets. This method, he said, often neglects individual farmers who suffered severe losses.
“We demand that crop damage assessments be conducted at the individual farmer level rather than calculating an average across multiple villages,” he added.
With consecutive years of crop failures and mounting financial losses, delta farmers are seeking urgent government intervention to introduce climate-resilient paddy varieties and ensure fair compensation for their losses.”
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