Agricultural Land Shrinking in Kerala Despite Huge Fund Allocation

Despite the government”s allocation of a large chunk of funds for agricultural activities, agricultural land in Kerala is shrinking. According to a new report, food grain farming has been reduced by 4.94% in the 2021-22 fiscal year. Coconut tree plantations and paddy farming have also been hit, with a fall of 9,306.31 hectares and 1.61 lakh hectares respectively.

According to the latest survey, paddy farming is currently at 195,734 hectares and coconut farming is at 7.65 lakh hectares. The cultivation of garden crops, including rubber, has also fallen by 0.25%.

However, there has been an increase in ginger cultivation, by 8.28%. Wayanad district, with 2,924 hectares of agricultural land, tops the list of districts with agricultural activities.

In the current fiscal year (2023-24), the budget share for agriculture has reached Rs. 971.71 crore (Rs. 156.30 crore from the central government). This is an increase of Rs. 48 crore from the previous year. The government has also allotted Rs. 732 crore for crop protection. In each year, the government spends about Rs. 1,500 crore on crop protection.

Experts say that people are abstaining from agriculture due to various reasons, such as immigration to other countries, the rise of white-collar jobs, and lack of interest.