A JOURNAL OF COMPOSITION THEORY ISSN : 0731-6755

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF FLOOD ON AGRICULTURE AND RELATED FIELDS IN PANAMARAM PANCHAYATH

Sinto T. J. Guest Lecturer Department of Economics St. Mary’s College, Sulthan Bathery, Wayanad, - 673592. Email : [email protected]

Remya K. R. Guest Lecturer Department of Economics St. Mary’s College, Sulthan Bathery, Wayanad, Kerala - 673592.

ABSTRACT

Similar to other countries across the globe, also experiences climate change and this phenomenon have caused natural disasters such as flood. The objective of this paper is to analyze the economic impact of flood on agriculture and related fields in Panamaram Panchayath, in . Between June 1 and August 18, 2018, Kerala experienced the worst ever floods in its history since 1924. During this period, the state received cumulative rainfall that as 42% in excess of the normal average. The seven worst hit districts were , , Idukki, , Pathanamthitha, etc., Nearly 52% of Kerala’s population lives in rural areas, and 17.15% of the population depends on the agricultural sector (including crops, livestock and fisheries) for its livelihood. All three subsectors (crops, livestock, and aquaculture/fisheries) have suffered losses and damages in the flooding and landslides of 2018. There are 31 Gram panchayath in Wayanad district under which one of the most affected area is panamaram and still bear the scars of the calamity.

Key Words: Agriculture related fields, Aquaculture, Monsoon

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INTRODUCTION

Similar to other countries across the globe, India also experiences climate change and this phenomenon have caused natural disasters such as flood. The objective of this paper is to analyze the economic impact of flood on agriculture and related fields in Panamaram Panchayath, in Wayanad district.

On August 2018, severe floods affected the south Indian state of Kerala, due to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season. The flooding in Kerala in recent times was considered as one of the serious threat to the economy which took the lives of many people and many of the people were injured heavily. Most of the people were taken to the safest places form the place of danger. As per the reports of the , about one sixth of the population has been affected by the floods either directly or indirectly through various means. For, the Government of India had notified this situation as Level 3 Calamity. This was considered as the most serious one next to floods happened in Kerala in 1924. The care should be undertaken before opening the dams like and Idukki. And also it should be monitored by CWC.

During the period of 1951-2018, Kerala saw significant decline in monsoon rainfall and enhance in the temperature especially during monsoon. It indicates that Kerala has dry and warming dur9ing the monsoon since 1951. In the last two years there was also an increase in occurrence of heavy rainfall over one or two days. Nearly 52% of Kerala’s population lives in rural areas, and 17.15% of the population depends on the agricultural sector (including crops, livestock and fisheries) for its livelihood. The sector contributes to 11% of the total gross state value addition (GSVA) at current prices (crops 5.42%, livestock 3.84%, and fisheries 1.78%). All three subsectors (crops, livestock and fisheries) have suffered losses and damages in the flooding and landslides of 2018. Crops were most heavily affected, contributing to 88% of the total loss and damage to the sector, followed by livestock (10%) and fishery (2%). Subsistence agriculture (across all three subsectors) is an important source of income for rural communities. Effects of the floods are expected to impact the state’s economy and a large number of sector-dependent rural households, most of which are involved in subsistence agriculture.

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IMPACT OF FLOOD ON WAYANAD DISTRICT Wayanad district, situated in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats region, had witnessed over 240 geological events- including landslides, landslips and land subsidence, making large tracts of land unstable. Wayanad witnessed the greatest loss of the century in flood 2018 in agricultural sector. The estimated loss is 1008.65 crore in agrarian sector. Out of 1,79,488 Ha gross cropped area, the flood affected area was 1,00,060 Ha. The sudden release of water from the Banasurasagar reservoir without any prior warning had triggered a major crisis in the downstream region comprising Padinjarathara and Panamaram Panchayath. Under Panamaram police station limits alone, as many as 12 relief camps- which housed3, 234 people- functioned for over 30 days. One year on since landslides, instances of land subsidence and floods caused massive destruction in Wayanad district and still bear the scars of the calamity.

IMPACT OF FLOOD ON PANAMARAM PANCHAYATH

There are 31 Gram panchayath in Wayanad district under which one of the most affected area is panamaram.The river Kabani flows through which and it overflowed due to the heavy rainfall and unexpected opening of Banasura reservoir. Under Panamaram Panchayath more than 700 houses were partially damaged and around 250 houses were completely damaged.

LOSS IN CROPS

The agriculture sector suffered heavy damages in 1.54 % of the net cropped area; Wayanad and Idukki were worst affected. Losses to crops have been estimated at INR 3,558 crore across 89.6 thousand hectares (4.44 % of the net cropped area).About 36.74% of the net cropped area of Wayanad and 17.59% of that in Alappuzha was damaged. Infrastructure worth INR 457 crore has been damaged. Perennial and annual crops, such as bananas, coconuts, areca nut, pepper, and coffee were the most impacted. Seasonal crops, such as rice, vegetable, tapioca, and other tuber crops also suffered significant losses. The recovery needs for the crop sector are estimated at INR 4193.5 crore. The major crops in panamaram panchayath are Banana, Pepper, Ginger, Coffee, Paddy and Arecanut. LOSSES IN LIVESTOCK

In Kerala the flood resulted in loss of income through animal products and damage to infrastructure and livestock assets, including deaths of more than 5,000 cows, over a million

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chickens, and 0.5 million ducks. The total damage and loss for the livestock sector is calculated at INR 687.5 crore. The worst affected districts were Thrissur, Alappuzha, and Ernakulam.

ACTION TAKEN FROM AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT OF WAYANAD REGARDING POST FLOOD ACTIVITIES

Wayanad witnessed the greatest loss of the century in flood 2018 in agriculture sector. The estimated loss is 1,008.65 crore in agrarian sector. Out of 1,79,488 ha gross cropped area, the flood affected area was 1,00,060 ha.

All attention of the department was diverted to field visits in natural calamity affected areas, collecting and verifying application for compensation of crop loss and giving recommendation to reduce the impact of natural calamity.

1. As an immediate relief to farmers, the losses were assessed and a financial assistance of 15.41 crores was credited to farmers accounts as first installment towards compensation for crop loss under CMDRF and then later on 7 crores allotted and disbursed to farmers. 2. A post flood package was released to the farmers under ‘Punarjani Programme’ regarding measures to be taken to correct soil acidity, loss of nutrients etc, and also for reclamation of sand/soil deposited fields. 3. For rejuvenating the flood hit area the paddy was lost in tillering and nursery stage a large scale replanting programme with high yielding varieties need to be launched. 84.4 MT of short duration paddy seeds were supplied free of cost to farmers who lost paddy nursery and standing crops and brought back 1,058 ha area in paddy. 4. Replanting and rejuvenation of pepper and coffee garden were given due importance and spraying against quick wilt for pepper was carried out on a war footing covering the entire pepper area free of cost. 5. Under Re-build Kerala scheme two projects were proposed. A) Rejuvenation of paddy fields which had been damaged during flood 2018 in collaboration with MNREGA at a cost of 109.998 lakhs. B) Scheme to promote Organic farming at a cost of 21.925 lakhs.

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6. For the implementation of UJJEEVANA Scheme Livelihood Rehabilitation Credit plan – Bank Account details of 16,478 no. of farmers forwarded to Lead Bank Manager, who are eligible under the scheme.

Conclusion It may be concluded that the flood devastations in Kerala pose serious threat to the economy in particular and Indian economy in general. Against this backdrop, it is learnt that the socio economic status of the Kerala people has affected considerably. As many as 15 per cent of the land area in Kerala state is prone to floods and other natural disaster. Of these, landlslides are considered as the most serious one and it accounts for 50 per cent for some districts. It affects the places such as Wayanad, , Idukki, and . In addition, drought also adds with the flood situation in the economy. It is said that the dry rivers and flowing towards lowering water tables in summer led to sever water scarcity in urban and rural areas. Other major natural hazards are lightning, forest fires, soil piping, coastal erosion, and high wind speed. The state also lies in seismic zone III. Clearly, there is need to develop better and appropriate measures to prepare and mitigate the effects of the floods. Above all, the aim must be to involve all the stakeholders to enhance communities’ resilience to floods. References

Veterinary Dispensary Panamaram Krishi Bhavan Panamaram www.keralarescue.in

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 2017, Vol. 7, No. 9 ISSN: 2222-6990

FAO (1983). World Food Security: a Reappraisal of the Concepts and Approaches. Director Generals Report, Rome

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