Kottayam: A steep spike in combine harvester rental charges during the Virippu paddy harvest has triggered discontent among farmers, who allege that machine owners are exploiting the acute shortage this season. While locally available harvesters are rented out at around ₹2,300 per hour, machines brought in from other regions are charging up to ₹2,500 per hour.

Harvesting has begun in major paddy belts across the district, including Kumarakom, Thiruvarpu, Aymanam and Arpookkara. However, continuous rain has delayed harvesting in many areas. Once deployed, a harvester cannot be shifted until the entire field is cleared, and rain-induced delays— often stretching up to a week— have left farmers unable to access the machines they had booked in advance.

As a result, many are forced to hire harvesters from distant locations at inflated rates to prevent their crops from becoming overripe. With persistent rain causing paddy to wither, harvesting such fields takes more time — often more than two hours per acre — pushing costs to at least ₹5,000 per acre.

Farmers point out that harvester rents have steadily climbed over the years, rising from ₹1,900 to ₹2,000 and then to the current ₹2,300 per hour.