Paddy harvest sends Kashmir into festive zeal!

While autumn marks the ripening of fruit and nuts in most parts of the world, the season simultaneously also announces the beginning of paddy harvest in this Himalayan valley of Kashmir. The golden yellow fields spotting the heaps of ripen paddy plants in the valley bring cheers to farmers. With men, women and children out in the fields engaged in harvesting activities these days, there is a festivity going on in Kashmir.
Zaitoona Begum , a middle aged lady covers almost a distance of one kilometer from her home to her family fields. Carrying the basketful of a large sized aluminum vessel containing rice, few plates and water bottles on her head, the lady walks through the narrow tracks and uneven patches in the noon. She has actually brought the mid day meals for the men folk and few labours engaged in thrashing the paddy plants.
It is the second time; I have walked to this field from my home. Earlier in the morning, I served a tea. And now it is a time to serve meals to the members in the field, says Zaitoona while spreading the plates and bowls on a large piece of cloth.
On a sunny harvest day, while walking through the fields one sees a number of people across the gender and age, gathered in groups having the meals on a greenish patch or shadowy spot around their fields. Ali Mohamad Dar, a middle aged husband of Zaitoona says that the harvest time is always a moment of joy and merry. While the farmer reaps the yield from his hard work throughout the season, Women, children and other too enjoy the time. Be it a cutting of plants, thrashing, sun drying of the produce or getting the rice separated from paddy hay or even having a meal in the fields, People enjoy these moments , reveals the upbeat Dar, while having a meal with his family members in the field.
Being a mainstay crop, rice cultivation is still a major agricultural activity among the plains of the valley. Though off late, People have shifted to horticulture growing more and more apples and other fruits for their economic viability, rice is still a major crop sown across the Jammu and Kashmir.
Sown as a Kharif crop in most parts of the country, starting from May-June to September-October, the rice cultivation lasts for almost six months. Harvest season lasts for about a month in the valley.
Jammu and Kashmir produces rice in twelve of its districts. With about 2.55 million hectares of land under rice cultivation, the union territory produces about 600 lakh meteric tonnes of rice annually . According to official data, average production per hectare stands around 2241 kg/Ha. In Kashmir valley alone, about 1.5 million hectare of land is under rice cultivation.
Jammu being the highest rice yielding district of the UT produces about 20% of the produce yielded in J & K. In Kashmir, Kupwara, Anatnag, Kulgam and Budgam are the major producers of the rice.
Rice cultivation needs a well irrigated land. In Kashmir , the melting snow is a main source of irrigation. Paddy plants require a good quantity of water for a longer period.
Though the rice cultivation is steadily losing to horticulture and other lucrative farming activities’ in the valley for economic reasons, experts believe that the application of hybrid varieties and site specific cultivation holds a key to promotion of paddy farming in the valley.
The high-value rice varieties like ‘Mushk Budgi’ (scented rice) and ‘Zag’ (red rice) with a pleasant aroma have a good local market, particularly for ceremonies and festivals.
Sangam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and Khan Sahib in Budgam for the cultivation of ’Mushk Budgi’ while Tangdhar and Khurhama in frontier Kupwara district of north Kashmir for the cultivation of ‘Zag’ rice.
“Both Sangam and Khan Sahib have a huge potential to grow Mushk Budgi. Similarly, in Tangdhar and Khurhama, the farmers can grow high-value Zag rice. We are ready to provide full support to the farmers to improve the productivity of rice, said an officer from the department of Agriculture, J & K.
Despite the rice harvest being celebrated by the farmer community, there is a growing tendency among the peasant fraternity to employ non local labour in the farming process. Over the last two decades, Kashmir has seen most of the paddy farming being carried out by the non-local labours.
Amidst the economic viability concerns and increased competition, Zaitoona , while flashing a cheering smile, is all engrossed in serving the meals to her family members and workers on the field.