Farmers, politicians sweat it out in hot, dry Wayanad ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Wayanad: The Lok Sabha constituency of Wayanad, represented by Congress' Rahul Gandhi, could turn into a hot seat, quite literally, if summer rain fails to bless the district as the campaign gets intense for the April 26 polls.

Wayanad has witnessed a 128 per cent deficit in rainfall between January and March compared to the average from the last three years while the district has become hotter by almost 1 degree Celsius since 2021.

According to the Regional Agriculture Research Station (RARS), under the Kerala Agricultural University at Ambalavayal here, Wayanad is facing a drought-like situation as the water level in rivers and wells has depleted.

The district, which has been grappling with growing incidents of human-animal conflict, is now facing an agrarian crisis with coffee, paddy and pepper farmers reporting crop loss due to adverse climate. Shajeesh Jan P, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Meteorology, RARS, said copious rain that used to lash across the district between the end of February and late March has kept away this summer.

Between January and March, Wayanad received 29.3 mm of rain. By comparison, the district recorded 139.7 mm, 149.5 mm and 115.5 mm of precipitation for the same period in 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively. To make matters worse, Wayanad has registered a steady temperature rise too. According to the RARS data, there has been an increase of more than 1.3 degrees Celsius since 2021 when the average temperature was 28.6 degree Celsius. The average temperature for the above period in each subsequent year till now was 29, 29.4 and 29.9.

Experts say the increase in temperature would have a serious impact on cropping patterns. Coffee is expected to be one of the worst hit as this is the flowering season. If rain doesn't come to the rescue, artificial irrigation is deemed essential as without it, the flower buds would wilt after browning (turning brown).

George Daniel, Deputy Director, Regional Coffee Research Station, Chundel in Kalpetta fears coffee production would be hit unless it rains in mid-April. “Last year there was copious rain and the flowering and pollination of coffee was robust, resulting in a good yield this year. But going by the weather conditions so far, only those with proper irrigation would be able to ensure good crops next year,” said Daniel.

Farmers in the Kabani belt of Pulppalli, Mullankolly and Padichira, once known as the pepper basket of Wayanad, have been hit by drought. M P Anirudhan, who cultivates pepper in Padichira, said the water level has gone down alarmingly in even pipe wells.