This has been my fourth consecutive working day in the fields and I must confess that I enjoy working and negotiating with the workers as much as I enjoy working in climate controlled offices. I also managed to synthesize Vitamin D directly from sunlight without any medical aid. :)
Racing against time, wrestling against nature
We went in early this morning to ensure that water in fields were drained because dry field is a prerequisite to application of weedicide. During our coffee break, we spoke to farmers from adjoining lands who also complained about the unprecedented growth of weeds this year.
Given what happened to farmers in Punjab who cultivated cotton this year, I suspected if weedicide manufacturers polluted river/canal with seeds from the weeds to push their products? Or could it be due to the late arrival of rain, delayed opening of the dam? With periodic night showers and North East monsoon only a few weeks away, every farmer is racing against time as much as wrestling against nature.
Shades of green
Watching laborers manually remove weeds by uprooting roots from the soil, I asked my father a simple question: how does one differentiate between weeds and paddy shoot?
He took me aside and pointed at the shades of green and yellow in the fields. The parrot green blade was paddy, while the yellowish green blades of grass were weeds. His answer sounded simple to the ears, but challenging to my eyes.
Not a green field
Exposed to 35 deg C sunshine, standing in ankle deep water and bending forward to manually remove weeds along with their roots isn't a fun job. If you asked me if they were compensated adequately for their efforts, the answer is no. Women get paid a paltry sum of 125 Rs. a day, while men get paid Rs. 350. In addition, all of them are offered tea and snacks in the afternoon.
Surprised on hearing their pay scales, I pointed out to my father that disparity exist between genders in both fields and boards rooms. Sadly,there is no green field for women!
Multiple dilemmas
If you are going the organic way then weedicides are not an option; one has to manually remove weeds which makes organic farming a labor intensive and expensive alternative. As a result the output from organic cultivation is also reduced, which explains why organic produce is more expensive. Are you willing to pay more for low yield and additional labor cost than consume chemical loaded produce that comes with varieties of side-effects from cancer to autism?
Whether organic or chemical farming, it is a tough job standing in waterlogged fields for 8 hours and manually removing weeds. If only each of us were made to grow food we consume, we would stop being greedy and wasteful. Sadly, we throw money at supermarkets, but seldom think about the sweat and heat behind cultivation of each grain.
Delivery Manager of the farm
While my father was busy inspecting the fieldwork, I was following up the field in-charge referred to as Thalayari to see how we can get expel water from the fields. Maybe it will help you understand better if I explain the role of a Thalayari.
He is paid a monthly wage and is responsible to guard the field against predators (livestock and rodents), vandalism, and sabotage. He also oversees workers during the day and more importantly manages and regulates water flow (Neeranickam) to the fields. Therefore, he needs be well versed in the neural circuit of the fields. He is expected to appraise on the health of the crop and bring to notice any incidents of sabotage and suspicion. In short, he is equivalent of a delivery manager in the IT world who manages teams and their morale, anticipates bottlenecks and delivers the required output.
Understanding the politics of water
Could a two hour rain inundate fields and canals? Was there something fishy and political? How did acres of dry land ready to be sprayed with weedicide was inundated with water overnight? While I was busy using my intellect to solve the water logging issue, my father took a different approach to understanding the situation by posing simple questions to understand the local politics.
Though my father suspected sabotage, but he couldn't get any answers from the Thalayari to confirm his suspicion. To break the stalemate, my father posed simpler questions like a teacher only to get him to think and come up with a solution. He questioned him on the various inlet and outlet points to the fields and asked about the water level in the river and gradient in the pond. Given adequate clues, he pushed him further to go around the area and find a way to drain the water in the fields.
Did we manage to drain the fields and spray the chemical to contain the growth of weeds on time? Come back tomorrow to learn more about the difficulties of farmers, farm workers, and farming as an occupation. Also learn about the three species of birds that I spotted in the fields today.
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