‘Samba not even giving input cost’

As expected the yield was too low and with more than 50 per cent decline from the usual production rate, farmers are in tears and claim that the returns would not be even to the level of the input cost. 

The ‘no water’ situation in the Cauvery and the subsequent failure of monsoon pushed many farmers to irrigate their samba crop using pump sets. As a result, the planned samba coverage of 1.05 lakh ha in Thanjavur had shrunk to just 81,000 ha. Still, the crops in a vast area withered and now at the harvest stage only 25,000 ha stand saved in Thanjavur. 

While the harvest is almost getting over, the yield had dwindled to more than 50 per cent in around 50 per cent of the 25,000 ha land. Though there were around five tonne per hectare yield, most of the places witnessed less than one tonne per hectare. In the corresponding period last year, the yield was somewhere between six and eight tonnes per hectare in Thanjavur.

“We could get the yield of at least 45 gunny bags per acre previously. But this time, the yield had declined to a meagre 10 bags and there were damages due to severe mist,” said Kakkarai R Sukumaran, Tamilaga Vivasayigal sangam’s Thanjavur district president. 

Meanwhile, in Tiruchy, out of the total 1.02 lakh ha land, samba cultivation was undertaken in only 35,000 ha. In Tiruchy district, farmers from Lalgudi, Musiri, Thottiam have already commenced the process of harvest. “We expected the yield to be normal this season. However, it declined to below normal with less than 10 bags per acre”, P Kathamuthu, farmer in Lalgudi said. 

In Nagapattinam, the yield was just eight bags per acre and similar was the condition in Tiruvarur where the yield declined to 10 bags per acre and out of a total of 1.08 lakh ha only 45,000 ha was cultivated and most of the crops had failed.