Targeted measures vital to reverse prolonged decline in rice production in Kerala, says Performance Budget on Agriculture department

A Performance Budget document on the Agriculture department for the 2024-25 fiscal has underlined the need for targeted measures and strict enforcement of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act to reverse the prolonged decline in rice production and the acreage under paddy in Kerala.

The document, which the Finance department tabled in the Assembly in the current session, has called for a “coordinated approach” involving local self-government institutions and the Water Resources department to arrest the further shrinkage of paddy lands. The suggestions and recommendations in the document assume added significance in the context of the ongoing row over a letter from the Union government asking Kerala to discontinue the additional bonus for paddy. The Performance Budget document, has, in fact, recommended “tax concessions or cultivation-linked subsidies” to encourage the retention of paddy lands in Kerala.

Among other things, the document has urged the Agriculture department to explore the possibility of establishing village-level monitoring committees, a digital land-monitoring system and land-banking mechanisms. “Kerala’s paddy area has declined drastically from 8.75 lakh hectares in 1970-71 to 1.8 lakh hectares in 2023-24, accompanied by a sharp reduction in production. In this context, the Agriculture department needs to adopt a comprehensive paddy revival strategy focussing on land protection, scientific farming practices, timely agricultural operations and robust district-level monitoring,” it said.

Other recommendations

Other recommendations include ‘special intervention packages’ for Kuttanad and Palakkad and the Kole and Pokkali lands (historically Kerala’s rice production centres), focus on mechanisation, programmes for income support to farmers, reduction of production costs and promotion of youth participation. The Agriculture department has also been urged to coordinate with the Revenue department and local bodies to ensure strict enforcement of the Paddy Land and Wetland Act, given the already-visible implications of urbanisation and real estate pressures on wetlands and paddy fields.

In Kerala, the area under paddy and production plummeted from 3.47 lakh hectare and 7.51 lakh tonne respectively in 2000-01 to 1.76 lakh hectare and 5.30 lakh tonne in 2024-25. While national-level production of rice rose from 275.6 lakh tonne in 1955-56 to 1,490.74 lakh tonne in 2024-25, the same period saw Kerala’s production slip from 8.69 lakh tonne to 5.30 lakh tonne, data released by government agencies show. On the other hand, rice productivity (kg/hectare) in Kerala had risen from 2,827 kg in 2013-14 to 3,117 kg in 2022-23, but dipped to 3,006 kg in 2024-25.