Caught in Cauvery row, delta farmers in TN see NE monsoon as lone hope

NAGAPATTINAM: With the Karnataka government revealing on Wednesday its plan to move the Supreme Court against the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) latest direction to release 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu, farmers in the delta region solely reliant on Cauvery water are pinning all hopes on the northeast monsoon to commence samba cultivation. Agriculture experts, however, point out that the sowing period for long-term samba paddy has almost drawn to a close, leaving farmers who have traditionally engaged in its cultivation with few options but to sow medium- and short-term varieties.

As on Wednesday, the storage level in Mettur dam stood at 38.02 feet (11.09 TMC). A year ago the reservoir level was at its maximum capacity of 120 feet (93.47 TMC). While paddy farmers are already reeling under the impact of low availability of the river water, Karnataka’s decision to move the apex court challenging the CWRC direction to release 3,000 cusecs of water to the neighbouring state till October 15 could further threaten samba prospects.

“The sowing period for long-term varieties such as CR1009 has almost ended,” said V Palaniappan, a senior agro-technologist and retired Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department official.

“Farmers could go for medium-duration varieties such as IR-20, CO-46 and CO-46 if they sow before October 15, and short-term varieties such as ASD-16, ADT-26, ADT-37, ADT-45 and CO-51 if the lands are cultivated after October 15,” he added. He also advised farmers to opt for direct sowing.

While long-term varieties take 150 to 160 days to harvest, they return good yield and are climate-resilient. Medium-duration crops can be harvested after 125 to 135 days while short-duration crops can be harvested after 100 to 110 days. According to an agriculture department official, short- and medium-term paddy variety seeds are now being stocked up on demand.

While Thanjavur alone cultivated samba and thalady paddy over 1,38,905 hectares last year, KA Koothalingam, a farmer from Pallathur in the district, said, “Farmers in Pattukkottai and Peravurani are awaiting the onset of the northeast monsoon to commence samba cultivation.” R Sukumaran of Orathanadu said farmers ploughed their lands ahead of samba season. They, however, now stare at uncertainty, he added.

“Farmers are unable to even take a decision on samba paddy cultivation this year,” said PS Masilamani, the state general secretary of Tamil farmers’ association. According to officials, groundwater was made use to transplant samba and thalady paddy over 11,263 hectares so far this year. “About 45,000 hectares of the seasonal crop could be cultivated in the district using groundwater in conjunction with Cauvery water,” an official said.

In Nagapattinam district, samba cultivation has so far been taken up only over about 19,000 hectares. This after only 13,000 hectares of the total 24,000 hectares of kuruvai cultivation taken up in the district survived. The delay in releasing Cauvery water also triggered changes in sowing methods and crop preferences, with farmers preferring direct sowing to transplantation and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), agriculture officials pointed out.

In Mayiladuthurai, groundwater accounted for at least 80% of the paddy cultivation taken up this year but the district still needs Cauvery water to recharge the water table, sources said. When enquired, Water Resources Department officials said it is regulating the flow at Grand Anicut (Kallanai) to address the water shortage for irrigation. “Currently, Cauvery water is being directed towards areas completely dependent on river irrigation,” an official said.