Malnad farmers, planters struggle to weather the storm

Rajesh, 35, grows maize on a one-and-a-half-acre plot of land at Kumsi in Shivamogga district in central Karnataka. Going by his previous experience, he was hoping to harvest anywhere between 50 and 60 quintals of the produce this year. The sudden pre-monsoon showers, however, upset his plans as he was preparing to harvest in the last week of May. He could not go ahead with mechanised harvesting, and now, he is busy drying the harvested crop to bring down the moisture level in the produce.

“If the rains were delayed by a few more days, I could have harvested and sold the yield. But the early showers caused me loss,” says Rajesh. He is expected to lose up to five quintals of corn because of the early rain.

Abhilash, another farmer, who was also desperately trying to dry maize, says local traders buy the yield for a lower price when the weather is cloudy. “At present, the market price for maize is around ₹2,300 a quintal. The traders will quote a lower price if the moisture content in the yield is high. Anyhow, we cannot keep the stock for long. Considering the input cost and the loss suffered due to the pre-monsoon rain, we will not be able to get much from it,” he says.

In south Kodagu, M.T. Poovaiah, a coffee planter, had arranged for new planting and tree pruning when heavy rain started lashing the district much earlier than usual. He had to abandon his plans. Poovaiah is now afraid of losing the labour he had managed to arrange if he has to wait longer for the intensity of the rain to recede. The inability to fertilise the plants before the rain is also raising fears of reduced yield.

The story is the same across the hilly Malnad region in Karnataka, which receives one of the highest quantities of rain in the State. From extreme heat and drought in 2023 to excess pre-monsoon rainfall this year, agriculturists in the region have faced every climate-related challenge possible in recent years.

Early monsoon, erratic weather

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the southwest monsoon set in over Kerala on May 24, a week ahead of its normal onset. This was the earliest in the last 16 years. In 2009, the monsoon onset was on May 23, when many States, including Karnataka, witnessed severe floods. Huge damage to life and property was caused due to heavy rainfall between September 28 and October 3, 2009, and nearly 200 people lost their lives, and 11 districts of north Karnataka were the worst hit.

During the pre-monsoon season (March 1 to May 31) this year, Karnataka recorded the highest rainfall since 1901. The actual rainfall received in the period was 286 mm, against the normal of 115 mm. In May alone, the normal expected was 74 mm, while the actual recorded was 219 mm, registering a 197% departure from normal. On the agriculture front, the loss was huge. According to the preliminary estimation, crops cultivated on 15,378.32 hectares, including 3,462.66 ha of horticultural crops, were badly hit by the heavy rain.

During the pre-monsoon season, the Malnad region, spread over Shivamogga, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, and Kodagu districts, received 443 mm of rainfall as against the normal of 163, registering an excess by 172%.

Large variations

IMD, Bengaluru, data available with The Hindu shows that among met sub-divisions, the entire State saw large departures from normal in the March-May period when compared with the previous few years. South-interior Karnataka, which includes the Malnad regions of Hassan, Kodagu, and Shivamogga, saw 110% excess rainfall this year during the three months. The sub-division also saw 80% deficiency in rainfall in January-February, and 43% more rainfall than normal in October-December 2024.

This has meant that farmers, who have been following a well-established timetable for decades, aligning with nature, have had to suddenly alter timelines and farming schedules to face the new challenges thrown up by climate change.

“The rainfall we received during May is sufficient for the whole year. But this is still the beginning of the monsoon. The IMD has predicted an above-normal monsoon this year. If there is heavy rainfall, our areca plantations will suffer. The diseases will hit the plantation badly,” says Sunil, a planter near Mandagadde in Tirthahalli taluk of Shivamogga.

Areca hit by diseases

Arecanut is a major cash crop in the Maland region. It is cultivated on more than 1.2 lakh hectares in Shivamogga district alone. The region is also known for producing high-quality arecanuts. But in recent years, the plantations have been affected by diseases such as leaf spot, yellow-leaf disease, and fruit rot, resulting in growers suffering huge losses. However, the impact of the diseases in the areca plantations of neighbouring Davangere and Chitradurga districts, where the rainfall is less when compared with the Malnad region, is less.

Yellow-leaf disease (YLD) is caused by phytoplasma, a bacteria-like organism. With no remedy for the disease, the growers’ community is finding it difficult to protect their plantations in the Malnad region. The disease, which reduces yield significantly, is normally noticed after the onset of the southwest monsoon. Experts say heavy rain can create favourable conditions for YLD and other fungal diseases.

“The pre-monsoon showers hardly affect the perennial crops. However, if heavy rain continues for weeks without a break, the plantations will suffer. Planters are aware of methods to avoid the ill effects of waterlogging in the plantations. They need to maintain drainage properly to let the water out,” says Nagaraj Adiveppar, scientist and head of the Areca Research Centre at Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences in Shivamogga.

Similar is the tale of paddy growers in parts of Shivamogga, Tirthahalli, Hosanagar, and Sagar taluks. Heavy rain that lashed the region has created huge problems. Paddy is sensitive to excessive water after it is ready for harvest. The grains rot if left in water, causing loss to growers. During heavy rain, many paddy fields were waterlogged for a couple of days. Annappa of Puradalu in Shivamogga taluk was about to harvest the yield in 15 days, but he could not do so because of the rain. “Last year, I lost paddy because of elephants raiding my crops. This time, it was because of the rain,” he says.

Altered timelines posing a big challenge

For coffee planters in Karnataka, mainly in Kodagu and Chikmagaluru districts, it is the altered timelines that are posing a big challenge. Rana Ponnanna, CEO of Puthari, a farmer producers’ organisation based out of Gonikoppal in Kodagu, says the unexpected rain has left the tree pruning exercise in most coffee estates pending, and tree-falls have already caused some losses. “Earlier, we would start fertilisation in June. Now, many have started it in May due to the early monsoon. In South Kodagu, some people have started seed planting for paddy too, which usually starts after June 15. The green manure for paddy is already rotting,” he says.

Labour and climate

Bose Mandanna, former Coffee Board of India member and a leading coffee grower in Kodagu, put forth another problem. “Along with climate change, we are also having problems with labour, and the two are connected. For example, in May, after fertilisation for Arabica crops, there is a fungicide which has to be sprayed before the monsoon starts and 15 to 20 days after the fertiliser application to help get new leaves. Labourers were present, but because it rained consistently and heavily, and there were tree-falls, we were scared to send them to work. But while we waited for the rain to subside, the labourers left in search of work elsewhere,” he recalls.

Mandanna further explains the planting timelines. “We plant two types in coffee estates — eight-month-old saplings (called one-year-old) and two-year-old (18 months). The latter have to be planted in May-June. Many have paid the nurseries for the plants but not lifted them. This is also the time when pinhead forms into a coffee bean. This is the initial period when pinheads should have started developing. Now, in heavy rainfall areas especially, plants will suffer from wet feet — wherein roots will not take in nutrients when there is excess moisture. They lie dormant. This delay affects the development of the crop. Pinhead will drop if the plants suffer from wet feet for long. Sunlight is needed now, otherwise, coffee berry and plant development will be affected.”

The question that is being raised now is, how does agriculture cope with climate change henceforth?

Mandanna says warnings about climate change came a long time back, but countries, especially the highly developed and industrialised ones, continue to put out CO₂ emissions while the poorer countries suffer. “Unless each one of us does their bit to save the environment, it’ll be an uphill task. Coffee growers here are the most environment friendly in the world. We are the only ones growing under natural forests. Elsewhere, they cut trees. Organic matter in the soil is high here, and carbon is also absorbed. We are also helping by allowing rainwater to be absorbed into the ground.”

He says planters have delayed tree pruning. Earlier, it used to be done in February-March, and now it is done in April-May, so the plants don’t suffer due to the scorching sun. “Most estates have also taken up rainwater harvesting in various forms. The big nations need to pitch in now and work for the people,” he argues.

Officials from the Coffee Board of India were unavailable for comments despite repeated attempts.

Published - June 06, 2025 07:14 am IST