Going with the grain: Hakimsinan’s farmers want to return to old ways

Screenshot 2023-02-27 at 14-37-07 idr-logo-without-tagline-sm.png.webp (WEBP Image 180 × 125 pixels)

The villagers say that their ancestors sowed pre-germinated paddy seeds in dry land; this process was called direct seeding rice (DSR) or thupi/chali dhaan. Eventually, the practice of paddy transplantation was adopted in the region as it was common in the neighbouring districts of Burdwan and Hoogly, where farmers from Bankura migrated as agricultural labourers. Transplanting requires the preparation of nurseries, where the paddy seeds are first sown and raised into young plants. These seedlings are later uprooted and transplanted on puddled fields that need to be irrigated almost daily (if there are no rains) to maintain a water depth of 4–5 cm. While Burdwan and Hoogly were suited to the practice of transplantation due to their abundance of water and plain topography, Bankura’s erratic rainfall and sloped topography exacerbated the practice’s negative impact.

Source: IDR