Kalpetta: An extremely harsh summer without any sign of rainfall is wreaking havoc on farms and plantations in Wayanad. The villages of the district, bordering Karnataka, including Parudeesa, Parakkavala, Sasimala, Kunnatha Kavala, Channothukolly and Kabanigiri have been badly affected by drought. Pepper wines, coffee plants and areca nut farms are wilting in high temperatures.

The farmers say that the last time they experienced such a prolonged dry spell was two decades ago in 2004. River Kabani had dried up then, exposing the bed of rocks and sand. It had severely affected hundreds of farmers in Mullankolly and Pulppalli panchayats.

The residents in these villages who are mostly farmers are staring at a huge loss. Severe summer has denuded the land owned by Sunil Aikkara, a farmer of Channothukolly, of pepper wines and coffee plants All the farms spanning across a 3 km radius area in three villages, have been affected, he said adding that he had spent more than Rs 100 for a single wine in a year.

According to farmers, during the last few years, they heavily depended on borewells for irrigation. ''The summer has been so severe that even borewells have dried up,'' said MP Anirudhan, a farmer of Padichira, Mullankolly.

''At a time when there is not even drinking water, how can we think of watering plants,'' he said. Going by the data of the Regional Agriculture Research Station (RARS), Ambalavayal, under the Kerala Agriculture University, this year, the total rainfall received in Wayanad in the first three months this year was only 29.3 mm. In the previous years (2023, 2022, 2021), the rainfall during the corresponding period was 115.5 mm, 149.5 mm and 139.7 mm, respectively. During normal conditions, the district used to receive summer showers from the end of February and by the end of March copious rains would lash the district. The average temperature of the district in the first three months of the year also registered an increase of 1.3 degrees Celsius.

A team from the Department of Agriculture headed by Principal Agriculture Officer Ajith Kumar visited the farms and also submitted a report to the district administration as well as the state principal agriculture officer on April 6. According to the report, 200 hectares of farmland in Mullankolly panchayat and 25 hectares in Pulppalli panchayat have been affected by drought. The report also recommended that the government declare the two panchayats as drought-hit to facilitate drought-mitigation efforts and to pool in more financial support.

The report also warns that if the present situation continues, the drought will be extended to larger areas. “The farmers in these villages have already lost their confidence, as vast areas of crops have withered,'' he said. Various farmers’ organizations have demanded the state government declare the two panchayats as drought-hit regions to ensure adequate support measures for the farmers.

Farmers’ Relief Forum president P M George alleged that the political leaders across the spectrum are neglecting the farmers of the district. “Even as the neighbouring Karnataka state has taken all necessary drought resisting mechanisms and has given warning signals to the farmers across the River Kabani, the Department of Agriculture here is yet to respond,'' he said.