"Kuttanad is facing a severe paddy procurement crisis, and the government must intervene immediately", stated Archbishop Mar Thomas Tharayil. Despite the harvest being completed several days ago, the delay in paddy collection has created a major crisis in the agricultural sector. This situation is causing significant losses to farmers in both Upper and Lower Kuttanad, he emphasized.

Mill owners are deliberately delaying the procurement to negotiate lower prices, worsening the situation for farmers, especially as weather conditions become increasingly unfavorable. The archbishop also criticized the control exerted by the interests of mill owners and harvester operators over Kuttanad's agricultural sector.

Decisions made in the presence of the District Collector have failed to resolve the crisis. Farmers continue to wait with their harvested paddy, while the Collector had assured during a meeting that additional mill owners would be brought in for immediate procurement.

Large quantities of paddy remain stacked in various paddy fields across Edathua, Thalavady, Champakulam, and Veliyanad. In Veliyanad’s Vellishrakal paddy field alone, 87 acres of paddy have been left waiting for days. Farmers report that mill owners initially agreed to procure the paddy but later declined when contacted.

When the issue was brought to the attention of Paddy Marketing officials, they directed the Padasekhara (paddy field) committees to find mill owners for procurement, according to S. Sreekumar, president of a paddy field committee, and secretary Mathew Vallurakkal. Recent rainfall has started flooding the fields, and farmers fear the grain will sprout and spoil if left any longer.

In Thalavady Panchayat’s Vattadi Kochalamchuvad field, paddy has remained uncollected for over a week. Farmers state that despite the visit of MLA Thomas K. Thomas, who assured action the next day, no follow-up steps were taken. In Edathua’s Mariapuram area, a mill owner collected one truckload of paddy but has not returned since, even though the farmers agreed to the discount rates suggested by the mill owners.

At Arpookkara Krishi Bhavan’s Manchadikkari Mission paddy field, the harvested paddy has been lying idle since March 1. Although two mill owners took samples, procurement has yet to begin, increasing farmers’ concerns due to continuous rainfall.

With only half of the harvesting completed in the district and the summer rains expected to intensify in the coming days, farmers warn that the situation will worsen. Harvesting and procurement must continue until early May, but given the current delays, the fate of the remaining paddy fields is uncertain. Farmers insist that only strong intervention from the agriculture department can resolve this crisis.