Prof. Dr.G.

Rengaraju
Formerly with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Govindaraja Nivas
A61,4th Main rd,TVS Green Hills
Nedungundram, Chennai-63
easyagri926@gmail.com
9442234593;9094284903
FARMERS’ DEATH -
WARNING SIGN OF CAUVERY DELTA BECOMING ANOTHER RAMNAD

All the attributes of Cauvery delta zone, such as soil type, topography, rainfall distribution
pattern, influence of sea weather are similar to that of Ramanathapuram except the flow of
Cauvery, a perennial river, transformed to seasonal river and expected to become an another
Vaigai, not reaching sea. In case if it happens, unfortunately, nothing can prevent Cauvery
Delta Zone becoming another Ramnad district.
Water is the elixir of life, a precious gift of nature to the mankind and millions of other
species living in the earth. Awful and enduring death news of poor farmers, mostly from
Cauvery delta region, ascertains it. Their fear and commotion are not baseless. Failure of
their endeavor, devastated effort, embarrassments and social humiliation along with financial
crisis drive them towards this extreme decision.
Restorative measures: It is the immediate responsibility of the Government, Politicians,
officers, Scientists and Farmers to follow systematic actions to ease the current situation
besides projecting out a permanent and long lasting plan to avert arising of a similar situation
in future. For this it becomes obligatory to both central and state Governments to form two
time bound core teams under senior officers with members, exclusively for the purpose and
with no other work for the specified period, on a war footing. Knowledge of retired experts
can be better utilized. The first group comprising sociologists, psychologists, physicians,
financial institutions, Farming community leaders and Government Officers can be entrusted
with the relief works to be taken up immediately to soothe the situation, assure the farmers
that the Government and Indian people are with them and put a stop to the panic prevailing
among farmers. Counseling, consoling, supporting are required urgently. The second team
comprising of local farmers, Agricultural Animal & fishery Scientists, Agricultural Officers, PWD
engineers, geologists, Agricultural engineers etc is to prepare a detailed, permanent plan to
prevent arising of similar situation and not to manoeuvre the situations after letting it to
occur.
Ground truth: The possible reasons for the present calamity can be put forth as follow.
1. Hydrological Features of Cauvery Delta Region: Delta regions behave differently,
which is unique and peculiar than that of other regions. Inadequate & untimely release
of Cauvery water spoils agriculture rather than supporting it. Instead, the Cauvery
water should not enter the delta without the willingness of the farmers and thus a
100% control over the river flow is essential to implement agricultural planning, as in
the case of other regions. Also the topography of the zone is plane, limiting water
storage in ponds, lakes, check dams etc., and the option of crops. Cyclone and floods
also heavily restrict the cropping pattern and sequence. Onset and cessation of
monsoons are often interrupted by sea weather behavior and thus impeding the
prosperity of agriculture.
Inferences drawn on the rainfall analysis explicitly indicate that the South West
Monsoon is inadequate to sustain the first season crop without the support of
Cauvery water. The chances of rising Kuruvai crop are bleak due to scarce, untimely
and erratic receipt of Cauvery water. Growing of crop during SWM with rainfall is
unfeasible because only Less than 300 mm of rainfall could be expected at 56 %
probability during south west monsoon, signifying no crop could be successfully raised
totally as rainfed. Short duration millets, pulses & oilseeds could withstand drought to
some extent, but liable of being affected by early NEM onset/ heavier SWM Monsoon.
Hence the left out option is the Green manure crop, a better alternative, which could
improve the soil health much; but farmers’ receptiveness will be very poor. In respect
of North East Monsoon, though the total quantity of rainfall and dependability are
adequate, the distribution does not permit to have wider option in crop selection other
than Rice.
2. Labour scarcity at peak season is the main problem faced by the farmers. Farm
mechanization could not bridge the gap at this stage as only trans-planters and
harvesters are being employed inevitably to some extent with many short comings.
Usage of heavy machineries exerts pressure on the land creating soil compactness and
 damages soil health. So suitable and simplified agronomical ways and means could be
identified to tackle the problem.
3. Crop insurance: Inevitable intensification and extensiveness of agriculture has
increased the production but not the farm income; instead increased the risk in
agriculture, notwithstanding the irrigation infrastructure development and invention of
technologies. Number of farmers covered and quantum of relief to them under
insurance schemes in existence are meager, necessitating restructuring to make it
viable. Insurance coverage and financial support are provided for notified crops only.
There is no provision for the instances of forgoing a season due to external factors, as
it happened during recent years. Hence, insurance should be for the whole year and
for this, unit wise (preferably village level) specific annual cropping pattern, varieties,
technologies and times of operations as fixed by technical officers, are to be
scrupulously followed by the farmers. This may also provide opportunity in due course
for extending insurance to the marketability and farm income, the ultimatum.
4. Soil health and productivity: Repeated puddling and mono-cropping ruin the soil
structure. Continuous water inundation displaces organic matter content of the soil
deteriorating the productivity of the soil. It becomes indispensable to build up the soil
organic carbon level to exploit the potential of native and applied nutrients. But it is
not being followed in the absence of livestock population, Farm Yard manure, green
leaf manure etc combined with inadequate time allowed for decomposition of these
materials before cropping. Farmers, though, are aware of the usefulness of composts
& vermin-composts, could not apply them considering the cost involved @ Rs 10000/
tonne. As the large scale production will cost less than Rs.1000/tone, Government by
utilizing the funds involved in the disposal of municipal garbage, can produce and
supply to farmers on free of cost.
5. Water saving: Agricultural sector, utilizing 75% of the water resources, faces major
constraints due to water scarcity. Agronomical modifications in cultivation practices could
save considerable quantity of water. Approaches like Off season tillage, System of Rice
Intensification (SRI), Sustainable sugarcane initiative, Crop substitution, Micro irrigation
techniques, could bring water saving also, besides other benefits. SRI-Out of 19.3 lakh ha
 under rice cultivation in Tamil Nadu, by bringing about 14.5lakh ha (75%) under SRI we
can save about 150 TMC of water at 300 mm per ha. If the entire land under rice in Tamil
Nadu is brought under SRI, a huge quantity of water can be saved besides enhancing the
yield by 40 per cent.
6. Micro irrigation technique-Micro irrigation technique (Drip, Sprinkler,Raingun) can be
used for 80 crop types. Now under this technique irrigated dry crops and sugarcane are
considered. At 150 mm per ha we can save about 50 TMC from 10 lakh ha of irrigated dry
crops and at 650mm per ha we can save about 69 TMC of water from 3.00 lakh ha of
sugarcane area through SSI System. Hence feasibility exists for saving about 340TMC of
water.
7. Production technologies: Array of good & simple technologies are available and
farmers are to fallow them scrupulously and can question the Government if anything
goes wrong. The food production has been increased from 50 mt in 1947 to present 150
mt. The yield per ha has been increased from 700 kg to 3000 kg Ha_1 and the cultivation
season has been tripled due to shortened crop duration and technologies only.

8. Timely supply of quality seeds: Farmers do not stockpile seeds. They run pillar to
post at the eleventh hour for seed and buy whatever available in the market
irrespective of its suitability to season, quality and viability. During yester years, a very
good ‘seed supply chain’ was being maintained in Tamilnadu. Agricultural Research
Stations were entrusted with the responsibility of supplying nucleus seeds & in turn
Breeders seeds to the State Seed Farms of Agricultural Department which produced
and supplied to farmers quality tagged ‘Certified seeds’. The system is seemed to be
defunct and state seed farms are to be revamped right now.
9. Timeliness of crop season : Only if the river water reaches before the 3rd week of
June; or supported with south West Monsoon (SWM) to start with, Rice transplanting
could be completed before the end of July and make use of the correct growing
season and harvest bumper crop before the onset of North East Monsoon (NEM).
Delayed planting results with Unfavourable Crop growing period inviting pest and
diseases; early season drought or late flooding and; water inundation due to monsoon
rains at maturity stage, hampering harvest and drying. Continuous water stagnation
 during late maturity stage will result in chaffy grains. So, assured water to start the
cultivation in time, could relinquish the dependency of the time of release of river
water and onset of rainy season.
10. Electricity: uninterrupted power supply is essential during crucial crop growth
stages, at least. But the state’s good intension of cost free power supply to farm
motor pumps has been mismanaged and misled to adverse impacts such as,
Injudicious pumping thereby wasting power and depleting the ground water besides,
adversely affecting the prospects of crops and crop lands; At the same time, ground
water is obviously, inevitable to enhance the cropping intensity, agricultural
productivity and production, But, providing electrical connectivity to individual bore
wells allows no control over the electrical consumption, quantity and season of ground
water lifting. Knowledge of farmers on water management technologies for the larger
interest of the society is inadequate and difficult to be imparted. Hence, establishing a
community based irrigation system for ground water tapping with recharging facility
could save power and water; timely cropping; enhanced cropping intensity,
productivity and production becomes imperative.
11. Cost reduction in crop production: Improvement in management practices
help to realize higher yields but at the same time most of the production technologies
are also input intensive and labour intensive. Costs of labour and input are higher and
are increasing in upward trend at very frequent intervals. Therefore the motivation of
farmers to aim for higher productivity may be reduced if the profits are going to
remain the same or sometimes less because of higher cost of cultivation. So, it is
necessary to sustain higher yield levels at reasonable cost of cultivation.
12. Price of produce: Government should fix the price of the produce based on
the ‘cost of production’ and not on the consumers’ protection. As discussed earlier
insurance can be clubbed to the farm income basis instead of yield basis.
 Annexure
Example for Resource conserving alternate cropping pattern ideal for Cauvery
delta:
Cauvery delta the rice granary of Tamil Nadu, often faces ordeal due to failure of monsoon
rains and inadequate and erratic inflow of Cauvery river water, resulting in failure of first
season Kuruvai (June-Oct) crop and delayed nursery to Samba season (Sep-Jan) imposing
unfavorable Crop growing period. Rice cropping could not be dispensed with Delta due to
socio-economical and hydrological reasons. But, the yield potential and profitability of rice
based cropping systems could not be exploited and stabilized because of one or other
reasons such as; Timeliness to stick on to season is difficult; Organic carbon
declination and Soil health Deterioration due to incessant ploughing and cropping;
Constant usage of heavy machines and escalated cultivation cost. Usage of
mechanical harvester gradually devastated the hopes of relay cropping of pulse, very special
to Cauvery Delta. This situation imposes irrigations (two numbers) for land preparation and
germination, which may not be possible at the end of the monsoon season. Also the
productivity is low due to sowing at improper soil moisture and method of establishment
resulting with inadequate crop plant stand which together with terminal moisture stress
ultimately restrain to exploit the potential yield of high yielding varieties.
Hence for the existing normal Cropping Pattern of KURUVAI –transplanted rice;
THALADI – transplanted rice; RICE FALLOW – Pulses relay cropping – 10 days in
advance to harvest of rice; it is suggested to have alternate cropping pattern of
KURUVAI - un-puddled Rice sown by multi-crop seeder; THALADI - Mechanical
transplanting of paddy under Zero tillage; RICE FALLOW - Pulse sowing by Turbo
happy seeder- after rice harvest.
Description of the technology in alternate cropping
pattern:
First season ( Kuruvai):
Sowing of rice under un-
puddled situation with minimum
tillage by using multi-crop
seeder @20kg/ha; Weed management through pre emergence herbicide of
Pretilachlor @400ml+Pyrosulfuron ethyl 10% WP @150g/ha as well as one EPOE
herbicide application of Bispyribac sodium @250 ml at 18-25 DAS and; Fertilizer
management with 150:50:50 NPK kg/ha as full dose of P and ¼ of N&K as basal and
three top dressing of N&K at AT, PI and 50 % flowering.
Second season (Samba): Application of Glyphosate @500ml/ha after harvesting of
Kuruvai and allowing 10 days to control all weeds; Mechanical transplanting of paddy
under Zero tillage; Weed management with herbicide for Thaladi season
Third season (Rice fallow pulse) : Sowing of
pulse and application of fertilizer by using Turbo
happy seeder; Application of herbicide
combination with Imazethapyr at 50g a.i / ha +
Quizalofopethyl 50 g a.i / ha at 15-20 DAS.
Field experiments were conducted at Soil and
Water Management Research Institute during the
year 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 to improve crop and resource productivity of rice eco
system. The experiments are replicated in farmers’ holding of the Delta during 2010-11 and
2011-12 in 15 locations and the results revealed that 40 percent of Irrigation water Saved
(130 cm) with 200 per cent increase in water productivity; recorded 2429 kg/ha/yr additional
rice equivalent yield with higher system productivity of 40kg/day/ha; Reduced cost of
cultivation by Rs.12737/ha and resulted with additional income of Rs.38485/ha with total net
return of Rs. 51222/ha, doubling the cost benefit ratio. Also soil health was improved by
Residue retention to the tune of 10.48 t/ha and increased Soil available Organic Carbon and
NPK.