Kerala witnessed a record breaking increase in the harvest of Puncha paddy farming this year. A total of 6.94 lakh metric ton paddy was collected from 1.37 lakh hectare land in the state. This is for the first time that more than 6 lakh ton paddy is procured after Supplyco took up procurement of paddy in 2005-06.

Compared to previous year, an extra 2.10 lakh ton paddy could be harvested. An excess of 48,000 tons paddy was collected from Alappuzha which was devastated in the flood havoc last year.

District Paddy procured (in tonnes) Palakkad 2.47 lakh Alappuzha 1.94 lakh Thrissur 98,740 Kottayam 90,495 Malappuram 28,991 Pathanamthitta 13,155 Wayanad 9,882 Ernakulam 6,227 Kollam 1,731 Thiruvananthapuram 1,044 Kozhikode 681 Kannur 422 Kasaragod 350 Idukki 157



Paddy procured since 2014 (tonnes)

2014-15 5.5 lakh 2015-16 5.61 lakh 2016-17 4.52 lakh 2017-18 4.84 lakh 2018-19 6.94 lakh



Floods gave good yield

Assistant Director of Agriculture Department B. Smitha said that fertility of the soil increased after the floods. Silt was deposited in the paddy fields in the deluge and the land became fertile.

The presence of the elements which are essential for paddy cultivation was also doubled. A considerable decline could be seen in the pest menace as well. The low rainfall during summer also turned out to be helpful for the Puncha farming, she added.