Pokkali fields at Chellanam come alive again
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The pokkali rice fields at Maruvakkad in Chellanam came alive again on Saturday, with farmers sowing the fields even as the delay in commencing farming is likely to affect the crop cycle.
Sprouted seeds are sown following the first rain in June after salt water is drained from the fields.
Father Prashant Palakkappally, a Catholic priest and former principal of Sacred Heart College, Thevara, who launched sowing in the fields of Chandu Manjadiparambil, a farmer from Maruvakkad, said farmers provided sustenance to society and were invaluable.
The normal pokkali cycle starts in the middle of April and lasts till November. However, the delay in draining the fields this year has resulted in farmers holding up sowing.
Francis Kalathungal, a veteran activist who works for the protection of pokkali rice tradition under the aegis of Pokkali Samrakshana Samiti, said the shrimp cultivation lobby had been attempting to sabotage rice cultivation, and that it was through court intervention that the ground was cleared for rice cultivation.
Pokkali rice plants take 120 days from sowing to be harvested. It takes around 90 days for flowering and another 30 days before the crop is ready to be harvested. Now, farmers are worried that the crop cycle could be upset by the withdrawal of the monsoon ahead of the flowering season, said Mr. Kalanthungal.
He added that the salinity level of water in the paddy fields was critical to the production of pokkali rice. Water quality with sustainable salinity of up to 8 to 12 parts per million (ppm) was tolerable, while the ideal condition is 6 ppm.
The total extent of pokkali fields available at Chellanam is around 1,300 hectares, but only 10 acres have been brought under cultivation, said Mr. Kalathungal.
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