It is harvest time but rain and labour crunch worries the agriculturists

By Eugene Moodubelle
Bellevision Media Network

Moodubelle, 06 October 2010:  The paddy fields have been gradually transforming from green to golden colour with the paddy corn and leaves getting mature and ripe. It is indeed a feast to the eyes to view the upright paddy stalk standing erect with bunch of paddy waiting to be harvested. However, those who could cultivate few of their paddy fields are at the mercy of both nature and human beings.

 

This year’s monsoon has been quite optimum for good crop and abundant harvest. Though there was a major and another minor flood, the paddy has grown well and yield is quite satisfactory. However, the intermittent rain since few days has been causing worry  to the agriculturists. Invariably it rains practically every evening which might damage the already ripened paddy grains.

 

The other major concern of the agriculturists has been the non-availability of labour especially women to harvest the paddy. With more or less most of the cultivated paddy fields having tuned yellow due to the ripening of the paddy, the agriculturists are eager to harvest their paddy as early as possible and hence they are on the look out of the women labourers. There are very few available to do this kind of ‘hard work’ in spite of considerably good wages with breakfast, lunch and tea as add-ons.  In fact, just asking the women labourers to come to harvest the paddy is not sufficient. It is necessary someetimes that the labourers have to be personally brrought to the paddy fields.

 

 

According to Pravin Castelino who is struggling to harvest  two of his paddy fields says that the labourers who had come to harvest  one of the paddy fields had agreed to come on the next day. However, early in the morning five of  them informed that they would not be able to come due to some reason.  As he was keen to get the harvesting work done in time for the fear of the rain, Pravin had to rush with his vehicle to some other known labourers and not only plead them to come but also personally bring them in his own vehicle so as to make sure that they would not change their mind. I personally witnessed Pravin bringing the labourers in his own vehicle. I also saw Pravin’s brother Roshan bringing two men on his bike for the threshing of the paddy which has already been brought to the courtyard.

 

Given all these troubles of cultivation, during the plantation and harvesting seasons, like Pravin many of the agriculturists feel frustrated due  to the non availability of labour and heavy cost of cultivation. As a result,  gradually the agriculturists are reducing the number of fields that they used to grow paddy. Thorny bushes and wild growth practically have turned these once fertile fields into wilderness.  On the other hand, some of the farmers have completely stopped cultivating paddy on their land and have turned them into coconut and areca plantation or have just left them fallow.