Looking to the skies for succour

A scanty Southwest monsoon, poor inflows from Karnataka, and the rapidly dwindling storage level at the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur have left farmers of the Cauvery Delta in Tamil Nadu heavily dependent on the Northeast monsoon to save their samba and thaladi crops this year. The Hindu speaks to the farmers to reflect the current concerns in the delta region

For R. Gajendran, 54, a small farmer of Puducherry, a tail-end village of the Cauvery Delta in Nagapattinam district, the samba paddy harvest from his 1.45 acres is crucial to meeting his annual family expenses. Though most farmers in his village normally go in for a late single crop during the samba season, this year the wait for water in the irrigation canal, fed by the Kaduvaiyaru, had been long and uncertain.

And when the water finally reached Mr. Gajendran's village in the first week of October, it was too little to flow onto his field. "Only if the water runs to the brim, will I be able to irrigate my field from the canal. The meagre flow is of no use to me," he said.

Yet, like several other farmers in his village and elsewhere in the delta, Mr. Gajendran opted for direct sowing this samba season, pinning his hopes on the Northeast monsoon. "I have no other income and need to raise the crop somehow. The monsoon is my only hope," said Mr. Gajendran as he went about the sowing along with his neighbour S. Jeevaraman, 61, a tenant farmer, who cultivates a four-acre leased land owned by a local temple.

"A spot of rain over the next few days would be enough for the seeds to germinate. From there on, it will be a gamble, but we farmers have no choice. We have faith in the monsoon; it will not let us down," said Mr. Jeevaraman, an activist farmer of the village. Once the seeds germinate, the two friends have to sustain the IR 20 paddy variety that they had sown for 135 days, and much would depend on the elements beyond their control.

Largely insufficient

Thousands of farmers across the delta face a similar predicament this year as the discharge from the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur has largely been insufficient to meet the irrigation requirements of the samba/thaladi crop.

Vast expanses of directly sown fields, with young crops ranging from 15 days to 20 days, were visibly drying fast as we traversed the tail-end areas in Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts in the first week of October. Several farmers were turning increasingly anxious as the germinated crops urgently required wetting.

Even those who were able to use the canal water now say much would depend on the monsoon as the storage at the Mettur Dam is fast depleting. "I was able to irrigate my four-acre field using the water from the irrigation canal. This should help sustain the crop for the next 20-25 days. But we need timely spells of rain to sustain the crop for 140 days," said P. Mohanraj of Agaraorathur.

The long-term samba crop is crucial for a majority of farmers. Many of them could not raise the short-term kuruvai crop as the Mettur Dam was opened for irrigation only on September 1, after a delay of 80 days this year. (The dam is normally opened for irrigation on June 12 every year and closed for irrigation on January 28).

Although water realisation in the Cauvery from Karnataka was very poor during the Southwest monsoon this year, the government opened the dam when the storage was 54.45 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) against its full capacity of 93.47 tmc ft, hoping that the inflows would improve. In a rather unusual statement announcing the decision to open the dam, Water Resources Minister N. Anand said water would be released for 45 days. Neither the water release nor the statement went down well with farmer organisations, which suggested that the government wait until there was a substantial improvement in storage.

"We insisted that the dam need not be opened on September 1; but the Chief Minister ordered the release of water based on the request of some MLAs in the Assembly. The released water did not reach several villages. Samba cultivation now depends entirely on the monsoon this year," said P.R. Pandian, president, Coordination Committee of All Farmers Associations of Tamil Nadu.

Complaining of "lack of transparency" in water management due to "inexperience" of officers, Mr. Pandian regretted that the storage at the Mettur Dam has been wasted, putting a huge question mark over even the single samba crop.

"We have commenced cultivation pinning our hopes on the monsoon; but whether it will be favourable for the crop remains to be seen, especially if there is very heavy rain and possible flooding due to the El Niño impact. The dam has to be closed now so as to save some water for exigencies during the later stages of the samba/thaladi crop," he said.

"Though water was released in the rivers and canals, it was not enough to irrigate the fields in the tail-end areas. Only low-lying fields are able to use the water. The monsoon is our only hope now to protect the crop on 18 lakh acres in Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Pudukottai, Ariyalur, and Perambalur," said Cauvery Dhanapalan, of Nagapattinam district, who is the president of Tamil Nadu Vivasaya Sangankalin Kootu Iyakkam.

"Only if 20,000 cusecs of water is released from the Mettur Dam, will we get adequate supply in irrigation canals fed by rivers such as the Odampokki and Kaduvaiyaru in the tail-end areas. But the maximum discharge from the dam this year has been 15,000 cusecs only. Being close to the coastal area, the groundwater is saline and cannot be used for cultivation," he added.

Unfavourable conditions

Bala Ramesh, a farmer of Thirukadaiyur in Mayiladuthurai district, is one such farmer who has to contend with saline and alkaline soil in his field. He has gone in for direct sowing in a portion of his field and raised nurseries to be transplanted in the other parts to meet the different soil conditions. "But we got water in the irrigation canal fed by the Manjalaru only on October 7. The directly sown crop on our fields is drying up and could wither soon as the heat [summer] has been severe and prolonged this year, possibly owing to the El Niño impact. If there is no timely rain or adequate water flow in the canals here, we will be pushed into heavy debt this year. The flow is meagre in the irrigation canals now; proper water management is crucial when there is shortage," said Mr. Ramesh, who heads the village Pasanatharar Sangam.

Seeking relief

Tail-end farmers in Tiruvarur, too, reported that the water in the irrigation canals was insufficient. "There has not been much flow in the canals here. The government should provide drought relief to the farmers. We are yet to get compensation under crop insurance even for the kuruvai loss," said M. Selvaraj, 76, an organic farmer of Vilakudi near Thiruthuraipoondi.

The water released from Mettur has been only useful in recharging the water table and, that too, along the main river courses. It has not been of much help to farmers dependent on canal irrigation, said Swamimalai Vimalnathan, secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association. "The Northeast monsoon is the only hope, but we are worried by the effect of the Super El Niño. If there were to be torrential rain, the crop would be endangered," he said.

Even farmers with borewells in Nannilam say the water release has not helped them much. "The water flow has not even helped recharge our deep borewells. Since the prospects of getting water from Karnataka seem very limited, we are keeping our fingers crossed," said V.K.V. Ravichandran of Poonkulam near Nannilam.

Vulnerable to prolonged submergence

Mr. Ravichandran pointed out that a large number of farmers have opted for direct sowing because of water shortage this year. If the Northeast monsoon brings heavy rain, these crops will be highly vulnerable to prolonged submergence. "What really worries us is the ineffectiveness of crop insurance under the Prime Minister's Fasal Bima Yojana in addressing the risks faced by farmers. Even the Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Agriculture Department officials appear to have limited clarity on recommending suitable agronomic practices and varieties under these highly uncertain conditions," he said.

Developing and making available submergence-tolerant medium- and short-duration rice varieties should be an immediate priority, particularly in the context of increasingly erratic monsoons and uncertain Cauvery water availability, he added.

Farmers organisations have been demanding that the government declare the delta districts drought-hit in view of the failure of the Southwest monsoon and initiate relief measures. "The government should have done so by now; only then can it start seeking funds from the Centre for giving compensation to farmers. But unfortunately it has not initiated any such measure," regrets Mr. Pandian, who has called for a farmers' protest, especially in the delta districts, on October 26 to highlight the plight of farmers. Full waiver of crop loans and quick disbursement of crop insurance compensation for kuruvai losses are among the other major demands of farmers.

The discharge from the Mettur Dam was reduced to 8,000 cusecs from 15,000 cusecs on October 15 as the storage dipped. The early onset of the Northeast monsoon and the spell of rain last week have provided some relief to the farmers. "The rain has infused life into the directly sown crop at many places, but we have a long way to go and need many more such timely and periodic spells to see the crop through," said Mr. Dhanapalan.

Echoing the widespread sentiment in the delta, he said, "No farmer worth his salt will leave his field fallow, even for a season. The farmers of the delta have done their duty, and it is the turn of the government to do its bit now."