Prolonged dry spell leaves farmers in northern Thoothukudi worried
Farmers in northern Thoothukudi are facing significant distress due to a prolonged dry spell and uncertain monsoon conditions. Many are hesitant to plant maize and cotton crops following heavy financial losses in the previous year.
Why it matters
This highlights the vulnerability of rainfed agriculture to climate change and El Nino patterns, impacting local food security and economic stability.
The prolonged scorching weather has left farmers in the northern part of Thoothukudi district increasingly worried about the prospects of cultivation as they are largely dependent on the northeast monsoon.
Occasional showers in July and August help them prepare their fields for maize and cotton cultivation, which generally begins in August and September in most areas. However, the weather during the past six months has remained largely dry, further hardening the soil and making ploughing and other preparatory activities difficult, they say.
The district has around 1,45,000 hectares of rainfed agriculture lands across the five blocks of the district comprising Ottapidaram, Vilathikulam, Kovilpatti, Kayathar and Pudur. Many farmers generally begin the season with maize and cotton cultivation and subsequently take up pulses and other crops from September to mid-October.
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