Rains spur sowing activity across Wayanad's paddy fields

Pulpally: Sowing on the paddy fields in the district has picked up pace, thanks to abundant rainfall that arrived earlier than in previous years. Farmers are hopeful of completing sowing before the end of Karkidakam. At Chekady, which is home to one of the region’s larger paddy fields, sowing is progressing with the help of machines. Chekady and the surrounding areas have over 300 acres of paddy fields.

Despite the constant threat of wildlife intrusion, local farmers have never abandoned paddy cultivation. While irrigation facilities are available, puncha season farming is not practised here.

Paddy cultivation has been on the decline year after year in the panchayats of Pulpally, Mullankolly and Poothadi. The primary reason is wildlife invasion. Paddy farming is already barely profitable and frequent damage caused by wild boar and elephants only worsens the situation. Fields in Kalluvayal, Kelakkavala, Nekkuppa and Paakkam have been nearly abandoned and are now overrun with wild growth.

In Chekady, farmers have not yet abandoned Gandhakashala cultivation, which is indeed growing than other paddy varieties. The paddy , however, yields lesser than other variety of seeds. However, the government offers incentives for Sugandhavila paddy. Gandhakashala remains in high demand, making its cultivation economically viable. Still, the crop is prone to falling over in strong wind even before harvest. While Gandhakashala was once grown organically, many farmers now rely on chemical fertilizers, citing declining soil fertility as the reason.

Farmers in villages bordering Karnataka are also active this season. Despite suffering major losses in puncha krishi last year, efforts are underway to bring as much land under cultivation as possible.

The early onset of rain has also affected fields that were nearing harvest, with many submerged. Hay stocks were completely lost and several farmers in the Marakkadavu area lost their paddy as well.

Labourers, meanwhile, continue to arrive from villages across the Kabani River to support the farming activities.