AIKS leader Krishnan scans drought-affected paddy fields
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, November 03 2022:
The visiting All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) joint secretary and Samyukta Kisan Morcha leader Dr Vijoo Krishnan along with leaders of Manipur Loumee Marup inspected some paddy fields and interacted with farmers on Thursday.
Dr Vijoo along with Farmers' Joint Action Committee leader Ksh Shanta, Manipur Loumee Shinmee Apunba Lup (LOUSHAL) president Mutum Churamani and Manipur Loumee Marup secretary Sarat Salam inspected paddy fields at Yaral Loukol in Imphal East district.
After the inspection, Dr Vijoo Krishnan told media persons that the Government of Manipur should declare the state 'drought-affected' and provide compensation to suffering farm ers at the rate of Rs 1 lakh per hectare paddy field.
A memorandum in this regard will be submitted to the government very soon, he said, adding that a workshop with scientists and agriculture experts will be held in the state for the next season.
According to Dr Vijoo, Yaral Loukol has around 260 hectare of paddy fields and it is located close to Iril river but the government never takes up steps to provide irrigation water.
There is no sign of taking up irrigation facility at Yaral Loukol though farmers of the Loukol could produce maximum of 2.8 tonnes of paddy per hectare in bumper harvest season.
However, productivity of the Loukol is very less compared to Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.
In Punjab, one hectare of paddy field could produce 6.7 metric tonnes of paddy while it is 5.2 metric tonnes in Andhra Pradesh, Dr Vijoo said.
Farmers of Manipur are yet to hear the word incentive or subsidy from the government and they are facing problem of fertilizer unavailability every year.
As state government does not procure paddy, farmers of the state are compelled to sell one quintal of paddy at Rs 1,300-1,400 though the Centre fixed minimum support price at Rs 2040 for one quintal of paddy, Dr Vijoo Krishnan added.
Dr Vijoo Krishnan further said that the cost of paddy cultivation in Manipur is around Rs 40,000 per hectare and a farmer could get Rs 57,000 per hectare if the government procures paddy from them at the minimum support price.
However, farmers of the state are getting Rs 36,000-38000 per hectare only and this could not make up the invested amount.
This is one main reason for farmers of Manipur to skip paddy cultivation, he explained.
According to Dr Vijoo Krishnan, field trial of Manipur's famous black rice was conducted at ICAR Pusa and productivity was much higher than in the state.
When field trial at ICAR Pusa could produce 4 metric tonnes of black rice per hectare, only around 80kg per hectare is produced in the state, he pointed out and stressed the need for giving priority on System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for production of more black rice and ensuring incentive to farmers.