News & Pics: Hemanath Padubidri
Daijiworld Media Network—Udupi (RD/CN)
Udupi, Oct 21: The unforeseen rains that have lashed the region over the past few weeks posed major hindrances to the harvesting of paddy crop in the undivided Dakshina Kannada (DK) district. The
agriculturists growing paddy in the fields during the monsoon are distressed at the unexpected rain at the time of the harvest.
A shortage of farm hands has also contributed to their misery in transporting the harvested paddy crop. The farmers are heavily dependent on migrant labourers from Bijapur since the local farm-hands are in short supply. The farmers were forced to hire migrant labourers at exorbitant daily wages, and provide them with food and snacks, besides free transport.
The distressed farmers are on the verge of giving up paddy cultivation owing to its non-profitability but continue their age-old occupation mainly because it provides staple food for the family.
In the past rural youth were enthusiastically engaged in farming but the scenario has changed over the past few decades with more rural youth migrating to towns and cities across the country in search of
brighter prospects.
“Cultivating paddy by paying exorbitant daily wages to migrant labourers makes farming an unprofitable venture forcing them to shun the age-old profession and instead buy rice from the shops for household needs”, said Kitta Anchan, a farmer and resident of Inna, near here.
The fertile farmlands across undivided DK are left barren chiefly due to the shortage of farm-hands. As the mega industries are getting a stronghold in the district, the farmers have expressed a desire to dispose off their farmlands and move to the metros.
Despite the agriculture department introducing machinery for farm use, its not being well-utilized in remote villages. Moreover, the farmers do not get adequate compensation from the state for the loss of crops due to unforeseen rains.