The Idukki Agriculture department has submitted a special action plan to the State government regarding the district’s drought-affected cardamom farming sector.
According to Agriculture department sources, during a visit to Idukki on May 16, Agriculture Minister P. Prasad had directed the department officials to prepare an action plan to mitigate the impact on drought-affected farmers in the district. The department has now submitted a detailed action plan with recommendations to the agriculture directorate.
The recommendations include an area expansion project for fully destroyed cardamom farms and a rejuvenation project for partially damaged cardamom plantations. These projects involve the reconstruction of water sources for irrigation, including Silpaulin tanks and ponds, construction of new ponds and wells,soil conservation methods such as contour bunds, mud bunds, and stone pitched bunds.
Another suggestion is to plant deciduous trees, which will provide adequate shade in the cardamom plantations during the summer, in order to change the pattern of shade reconstruction in the farms.
Integral part
“Shade conditioning is an integral part of cardamom farming. Most of the trees now planted by farmers lose their leaves during the summer season. If deciduous trees are used in the plantations, they will lose their leaves during the monsoon and provide shade during the summer,” said a source.
The recommendations also include carrying out integrated nutrient management (INM) and integrated pest management (IPM), implementing modern irrigation system (micro-sprinklers), and ensuring mulching in the cardamom plantations to avoid drought situations.
According to sources, the district agriculture office has estimated that a full crop loss has occurred on 16,211 hectares of cardamom plantations. “Partial crop loss has occurred on 13,349 hectares of cardamom plantations in the district. A total of 22,311 affected farmers have been identified, including 19,617 small-scale farmers and 3,614 large-scale farmers, with an estimated loss of ₹11,354 lakh,” said the source.
Loss in profit
The average production of cardamom per hectare is 800 kg per year, with an estimated income of ₹1,600 per kg. “The estimated loss in profit for cardamom farmers this year is around ₹2,869.17 crore,” said the source.
Devikulam, Peerumade, Idukki, Kattappana, Nedumkandam, and Adimaly are the six blocks in Idukki whose plantation areas were affected by the drought.
Farmers Congress (Karshaka Congress) Idukki district president Antony Kuzhikkattu demanded that the government announce a special package for the cardamom sector in Idukki. “Due to the drought, nearly 60% of cardamom plantations were fully destroyed. The farmers are struggling to arrange money for replantation purposes. Only a special package can address the farmers’ needs,” said Mr. Kuzhikkattu.
