Thiruvananthapuram: Paddy fields in Kerala are fast disappearing as farmers are giving up on them in view of the massive increase in production cost and the shortcomings in paddy procurement by the State.
Rice production and the area under paddy cultivation in the state have declined sharply in the last two decades with 1,26,634 hectares lost and the rice production shrinking to 1,41,407 tonnes, states the latest report of the Directorate of Economic and Statistics on the agriculture sector in Kerala.
Between 2001-02 and 2021-22, Kerala recorded a 39 percent decline in the area under paddy cultivation and 20 percent in rice production. In 2001-02, the area under paddy was 3,22,368 hectares but by 2021-22 it came down to 1,95,734 hectares. In 2001-02, the rice production was 7,03,504 tonnes but fell to 5,62,097 tonnes in 2021-22.
Alarmingly, the area of cultivation has decreased in the Palakkad, Alappuzha, and Thrissur districts too which are at the forefront of paddy cultivation.
Paddy cultivation was done in 2.05 lakh hectares of the state in 2020-21, but 9306.31 hectares of cultivation were wiped out by 2021-22.
During 1955-56, there were 7.60 lakh hectares of paddy fields in Kerala. In 75-76, it increased to 8.76 lakh hectares, but the cultivation came down thereafter. In 2000, paddy was cultivated in 2.5 lakh hectares, but in 2016, it came down to 1.92 lakh hectares.
The findings of the report disprove the government's claim that paddy cultivation spread to more areas in the state after the 2018 floods.
Vegetable cultivation too declines
The area under vegetable cultivation in the state has also come down considerably. The total area declined by 1.80% in 2020-21 and 4.78% in 21-22.
While there was an increase in the production of bananas, coconuts, tapioca, coffee and areca nut, the production of cashews, pepper, rubber, pulses, ginger and turmeric declined significantly.
The state's overall agriculture area and production recorded a decline of 4.54 percent and 10.34 percent, respectively.
