Devastating floods leave farmers apprehensive of paddy cultivation

Kharibam Yaiphaba Meitei
IMPHAL, Nov 30 : A considerable number of farmers are now rethinking about paddy cultivation in view of the unpredictable nature of rainfall which has been exacerbated by global climate change.
Manipur experienced devastating floods not once, not twice but three times this year.
The first flood was spread in pockets across Imphal East and Imphal West sometime in March.
The second flood was experienced from the last week of May to the first week  of June and the second in September.
Vast expanses of paddy fields were inundated by floods in Imphal East and thus months’ of hard labour were reduced to nought.
Being their source of livelihood, farmers were going to fields everyday and taking care of the paddy plants with all their hopes pinned on a good harvest. But a sudden and sweeping floods inundated the paddy fields and all their hopes were also submerged under water.
One woman farmer from Kongpal Mamang Sabal Leikai said that she cultivated paddy in four sangams. While two sangams are her own, she cultivated the other two sangams as a tenant.
The paddy seedlings she sowed for the season perished in the first flood. She   bought paddy seedlings from other farmers at the rate of Rs 30 per bunch (harei). She spent more than Rs 4000 in buying paddy seedlings alone.
Moreover, she spent more money this year on tilling and preparing the fields as the entire process had to be repeated twice.
The woman farmer forgot all her pain, labour and expenses when the paddy planted for the second time started flowering and she was exuberant.
But all her hopes vanished into thin air and a shadow of gloom and despair descended upon the farmer when her paddy fields were inundated for the second time in September.
Apart from the paddy plants, paddy stored in the granary were also destroyed as her home was also flooded.
She said that many people in her neighbourhood have relocated their granaries to higher grounds or elevated positions.
The woman said that she has lost all enthusiasm to cultivate paddy and she is mulling to abstain from paddy cultivation next year.
Unlike in the past where floods were generally experienced in the Manipur calendar months of Enga-Engen (June-July), these days floods occur every time there is moderate to heavy rainfall for a couple of days, she said.
“If I must continue paddy cultivation, I’m seriously considering switching to flood resistant varieties”, the woman said.
“Sometimes I think of converting the paddy fields into vegetable farms”, she added.
The woman said that she and her family took refuge at other places when their neighbourhood was flooded.
But when they came back after the flood waters receded, it was found that the paddy stored in their granary had germinated.
Even though the flood ravaged paddy plants failed to bear fruits, the stalks were cut down as it is generally believed that leaving the paddy stalks standing can bring misfortune. But it meant extra expenditure, she said.
It was the floods which destroyed the paddy plants, robbed a substantial sum of money and caused mental illness, the woman added.
According to data collected from the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, Imphal West received 648.6 mm of rainfall in May-June this year and 136 mm from September 1 to 19.
Imphal East received 486.1 mm in May-June and 192.3 mm from September 1 to 19.  
During the last 60 years, the rainfall rate in Manipur has seen great variation between 956.5 mm and 2268.9 mm, according to the State Action Plan on Climate Change. It is being speculated that the rainfall rate in Manipur will rise by 15 to 19 per cent.
Mental Health activist Dr RK Lenin said that many among the people who came to him for mental problems included farmers whose paddy plants were ravaged by floods.
Loss of paddy plants is quite painful and devastating to a farmer. A season’s harvest will feed his/her family for one whole year and all the hopes of the family are pinned on paddy harvest, Dr Lenin said.
A farmer easily forgets all his expenses and hard labour when he sees the season’s harvest stacked at his home. But when there is no  harvest due to floods or other reasons, it is only natural for the farmer to become depressed and show symptoms of mental illness, he said.
Many farmers who lost their paddy plants to floods are suffering from insomnia, physical weakness, loss of appetite, frustration and irritability etc, he said.
Clinical treatment is enough for curing these mental problems, it needs material and financial assistance from the Government to make up for losses suffered by them, Dr Lenin said.
Farmers too should try to forget what had happened and focus on enhancing the productivity of their crops, he said.      
If the farmers are thinking too much about what they have lost and are suffering from depression, they must consult mental health experts, he said.
The woman farmer from Kongpal Mamang Sabal Leikai said that a survey had been carried out for the flooded households but no survey had been carried out for the inundated paddy fields.
Had the relevant Government departments extended some help to the devastated farmers, the despair of the farmers could have been reduced to some extent but so far no help has come from the Government, the woman said.
She expressed keen desire for concerned officials/experts to advise farmers on which variety of paddy should be planted in areas which are vulnerable to frequent floods, and provide necessary assistance.
This report is filed under the 6th Media Fellowship (Climate Change Reporting) of the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Manipur.