‘Farmers in non-delta areas can go for alternative crops instead of paddy’

A farmer participating in the monthly grievance redress meeting at the District Collectorate in Tiruchi on Friday. | Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY With a section of the district farmers expressing concern over the uncertainty on the availability of water for irrigation for the entire samba season, given the current storage at the Mettur dam, a senior Agriculture Department official urged farmers in non-delta areas in Tiruchi district to go for alternative crops such as millets.Raising the issue at the monthly farmers grievances meeting chaired by Collector Pratik Tayal on Friday, P. Ayyakannu, president, Desiya Thennidiya Nadigal Innaipu Vivasayigal Sangam, sought the advice of the Agricultural Department on whether farmers can go ahead with raising nurseries for the samba paddy crop, in the backdrop of the current storage position and poor inflows from Karnataka in the Cauvery.To a question, M. Shanthamani, Joint Director of Agriculture, Tiruchi, suggested that farmers in the non-delta areas in the district go for alternative crops such as millets. “However, we are unable to give a clear advisory to farmers in delta areas of the district under the present circumstances,” she said.The Water Resources Department, she pointed out, had indicated that water for irrigation could be released from Mettur dam till October 15 given the current storage. “Hence, those with their own water sources in the delta areas can go for samba paddy. Others may consider alternative crops and plan accordingly,” she said.She said much would depend on the monsoon rainfall, which had been in deficit in the district so far. Experts have predicted that the super El Nino could trigger weather extremes, she pointed out and urged farmers to go for crop insurance without fail.Another official, while briefing farmers on crop insurance, told paddy farmers to insure their crop even if they could not take up samba cultivation as they could claim compensation under the “prevented sowing” clause.The district secretary of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, affiliated to the CPI, Ayilai Siva Suriyan, pointed out that farmers could ill afford to lose their income during the samba season too after the kuruvai loss. “The government should continue its legal battle to get water from Karnataka. It should implement a special package to provide inputs at 50% subsidy to support farmers taking up samba cultivation,” he demanded.R. Subramanian, deputy secretary, Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Association, urged the authorities to ensure release of adequate water in all the 17 irrigation canals to reach the tail-end areas. Published - September 25, 2026 06:11 pm IST