The Hindu Business Line : Crop rotation plan mooted for Kuttanadu

The Kuttanadu Vikasana Samithi, an NGO, has drawn up an action plan to help paddy growers of the State's granary to extricate themselves from debts by improving their income.

It has suggested that integrated farming system with thrust on organic farming needs to be promoted following the rotational crop system of "one paddy, one fish" crop rotation.

The NGO has submitted the action plan to Dr M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman of the Kuttanadu Study Group. The Samithi has suggested that given the serious financial crisis faced by the paddy farmers of Kuttandu because of continuous non-remunerative price for paddy, they could take up crop rotation so that they would receive more income from paddy and additional income from fish, mainly `Kuttanadan prawn'.

In paddy fields, where only one crop of paddy is cultivated annually and the fields are left fallow during the rest of the period, cultivation of fish/prawn is found successful, Fr Thomas Peelianickal, Executive Director of the Samithi said. "This system of rotational farming is called `one paddy, one fish', which was originally promoted by Kuttanadu Vikasana Samithi in the last six years and recently approved by the Government of Kerala," he said.

SALIENT FEATURE

The salient feature of this programme is that the input expenses in the paddy farming are reduced, rice is converted into organic produce and additional income is assured from fish.

SAVINGS

At the same time, a significant saving in fertiliser cost was also demonstrated in rice culture when preceded by fish. Fish in paddy fields not only eradicates weeds but also saved cost on ploughing and harvesting.

Since chemical fertilisers and pesticides are not applied in this system, rice cultivation becomes organic.

Fish facilitate control over pests and diseases and hence there is no need for pesticides. While continuous mono-cropping leads to decline in soil microbial biomass and fertility, fish integration helps improve and retain high bacterial load and improved soil fertility. "Further, the mutualism of paddy and fish help to increase in paddy yield as much as 15 per cent", said Fr Thomas.

He said that it was demonstrated by Kuttanadu Vikasana Samithi that the net income from paddy could increase to over Rs10,000 a hectare.

There are additional labour opportunities of 45 man-days per hectare than a single crop of paddy". Besides, water being the strength of Kuttanadu, fish integration with paddy is a golden opportunity, he said.

On the other hand, he said, there are thousands of hectares of abandoned paddy fields/marshy land left idle for a long time, which can be utilised either for fish farming or for paddy cultivation provided water exchange facilities are revived.

Similarly, Rani and Chithira and other reclaimed polders in Vembanadu Lake could be utilised for fish farming with various techniques so that water-holding capacity of the lake can be increased during flood season.

Construction of criss-cross roads in Kuttanadu has negatively affected paddy cultivation in the region, which is known as the granary of the State.

Paddy cultivation in the area is like a gambling in between the two monsoons, as the land is situated two metres below the Mean Sea Level. In order to regulate the flood, water flow through the rivers especially Pampa, Manimala, Achenkovil and Meenachil is to be balanced and facilitated, Mr N K Sukumaran Nair, General Secretary, Pampa Parirakshana Samithi told Business Line. The natural flow of water in Kuttanadu being South to North direction, the Alapuzha - Changanacherry Road constructed East-West direction has totally blocked the flow of flood water. At the same time the proposed parallel canal beside the road has been completed only partially. Therefore, Canal needs to be completed and fully opened up to Pallathuruthy river to facilitate speedy drainage of water so as to control the flood in the southern region of Kuttanadu, he said.

Besides, according to Mr Nair, the Pampa river having a width of 250 metre flowing to the Vembanadu Lake is obstructed by a link bund constructed 40 years ago. This bund needs to be removed simultaneously strengthening the sides of the paddy fields facing the riverside, he argued.

"The flood havoc in Kuttanadu could be seen largely manmade", Father Thomas pointed out. The unscrupulous road construction across the canals obstructing water flow and encroaching water bodies brought water stagnation as a consequence of which thousands of hectares of paddy fields have become fallow, he said.

Therefore, all the drainages that were obstructed for road construction should be reopened and culverts are to be constructed as a substitute besides rejuvenating the abandoned wasteland into paddy fields and fishponds, he added.

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