Delta farmers feel let down by kuruvai package’s machine clause

The scheme was introduced to encourage the farmers to undertake cultivation with the support of farm machines to tackle manpower shortage.

However, the area of cultivation, compared to the conventional method of planting (manual), is minimal and the Delta farmers are dissatisfied that the benefits do not cover conventional farmers who are in a majority in the Cauvery Delta region.

The state government introduced the kuruvai package to support the farmers who take up cultivation with borewells in order to manage the water shortage that has been a long-standing problem in the region. However, the package has been restricted to the machine planting methods and so those involved in the conventional method are skeptical about taking up kuruvai.

The farmers claim that the machine planting is undertaken only in 40 per cent of the land across the Delta and in the remaining area, the conventional method is in vogue.

“This means, the government scheme has failed to reach a majority of the farmers,” said S Dharmaraj, honorary president of the Thanjavur Cauvery Farmers’ Protection Association. He said machine planting is possible where the field has more soil than slush and the surface level is even. “There is no chance for such a surface in Thanjavur as most of the areas have muddy soil. In such areas, the conventional method is adopted and the farmers depend on agriculture labourers. If all the farmers are benefited by the scheme, they could meet the expenses with the government subsidy,” Dharmaraj said and added that due to the restriction, many an agricultural labourer could lose their livelihood.

K Pakkirisamy, Thanjavur district secretary of All India Agricultural Labourers’ Association, said using the conventional method would give rise to more employment opportunities. If the government is willing to disburse subsidy, not only the farmers, but also the agricultural labourers would benefit, he said. He estimated that at least 15–18 farm workers are required for planting an acre of land and thus, a minimum of 1,500 workers are needed for the work. Even if the daily wage is fixed at Rs 200 per day, these workers would get a decent pay and thus, their livelihood would be restored.

While the expenditure for planting stands at Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per acre, the subsidy would support conventional farmers.

Advantage for machine owners 

The kuruvai package, aimed at benefiting the farmers, has failed to serve the purpose as the entire subsidy goes only to the machine owners. According to farmers, there are around 15 machines available in the Delta region for planting and the farmers depend on their availability for planting the nurseries.

However, sensing the high demand, several private companies have made machines available as it is a lucrative business and offered two types of services.

Accordingly, they just plant the nurseries which has been readied by the farmers, in equal proportion. The other option is the machine owners themselves make ready the nurseries and plant them. For planting alone, they charge between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2,500. At the same time, if they bring the nurseries and plant them, they avail of the entire government subsidy of Rs 4,000 in the name of the land owner.

“The kuruvai package fund never helps the farmers but only benefits the machine owners. Though the planting machine costs between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh with around 50 per cent subsidy, all farmers do not benefit,” charged N Veerasekaran, a leader of Bharathiya Kisan Sangh.

He said there are several disadvantages in machine planting as the machine owners used to bring just week-old nurseries. But, in the conventional method, the farmers plant 30-day-old nurseries and the yield also used to differ according to the planting method. “The government should revise its agriculture policy and reshape the kuruvai package so as to benefit the farmers,” Veerasekaran said.