Indiscriminate reclamation of paddy fields, allegedly under the disguise of developmental activities, appears to have led to a sharp fall in area under the crop, and a consequent substantial drop in rice production during 2010–11.

The area under paddy, which had been steadily declining, increased in 2007-08 from 2.29 lakh ha to 2.34 lakh ha.

This was followed by a sharp fall of 20,828 ha from 2,34,013 ha to 2,13,185 ha in 2010-11, according to the Kerala Economic Review (KER) 2011 released recently.

Production

Rice production has been on the decline since 1983 and last fiscal it had hit the lowest level of 5,22,739 tonnes, a fall of 75,598 tonnes from 5,98,337 tonnes in 2009-10, the KER said. It is against the estimated annual requirement of 40 lakh tonnes, official sources said.

The maximum area under rice was in 1974-75 at 8.81 lakh ha, with production at 13.34 lakh tonnes.

Two main reasons have been attributed to the continuous fall in its production are “indiscriminate reclamation of paddy fields in the name of developmental activities and shifting to other lucrative crops without making concerted efforts to increase productivity, making paddy cultivation profitable giving it the due importance and priority over others,” some of the paddy growers in Kuttanad, the granary of Kerala said.

“The food scene in Kerala is turning grim as factors both global to local accelerate scarcity and price hike of food grains,” said Prof S. Leena Kumari, Head of the Rice Research Station, Monkompu in Kuttanad. “The challenge facing our Government for the next few years will be to feed the escalating population, keeping prices low to benefit poor consumers and reducing production costs to benefit poor growers.” To feed a population of 3.3 crore, Kerala has to produce approximately 40 lakh tonnes of food grains every year at the minimum per capita food availability of 320 g, she said.

Among the strategies for increasing rice production in the State, area expansion needs immediate attention since Kerala cannot afford any more conversion of paddy lands, ecologically or economically.

The Kerala Conservation Of Paddy Land And Wetland Act, 2008, has to be implemented in its true sense to arrest conversion and to protect existing paddy lands. The ecosystem services provided by the rice crops need be recognised and intensive efforts have to be taken to bring back fallow land under cultivation by providing institutional support for developing the required infrastructural facilities and by promoting lease land cultivation wherever owners of paddy lands are unable to continue rice farming.

Kuttanad has become a victim of development where wetland systems including vast stretches of paddy fields are being reclaimed. The area under paddy in this region has shrunk to around 37,000 hectares from around 55,000, Fr Thomas Peeliyajickal, Executive Director, Kuttanad Vikasana Samithi, told Business Line .

The “Rani” kayal included in the Rs 1,860-crore Kuttanad package created by Dr M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation to bring it back to paddy cultivation has gone into the hands of a major private group engaged in financial and tourism business. About 75 per cent (420-450 acres) of the total area is said to be in the hands of the group, Fr Thomas said.

Besides the violation of laws enacted in 2008 to protect the state's paddy fields and wetland systems, the “Metran kayal” covering an area of 517 acres has been allegedly bought by a private company at Rs15 lakh an acre. It was hitherto being used for cultivation of paddy. Now, this area is proposed to be reclaimed for developing as a major township.

Add to this another 300 acres from the MN Block covering an area of 1,000 acres are also said to have been sold.

Negotiations are said to be under way for sale of nearby “Maran kayal” at Rs 9 lakh an acre while in the Marthandam kayal, around 30 acres have already been kept aside for reclamation, he said.

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