Dry spell, urban sprawl shrinks Kashmir's paddy farms

Srinagar, Jul 9: The prolonged dry spell this summer has once again brought the spotlight on the steady decline of paddy cultivation as farmers struggle to irrigate the remaining fields amid depleting water sources and shrinking agricultural land.

Paddy farming in Kashmir, which has long relied on snowmelt and rainfall, is now facing two significant challenges: changing weather patterns and the loss of agricultural land to construction.

Farmers say that even areas once known for their abundant water supply are facing severe shortages this year.

“Earlier, we would irrigate our farms from the streams and canals. Now, not only are these water resources drying up, but also the land is vanishing under roads and houses,” said Ghulam Mohammad, a farmer from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

He said that over the last few years, thousands of canals of agricultural land were converted to construction. “This conversation is going at a fast pace”, said the farmer.

In the absence of regulation, a vast chunk of agricultural land has been extensively converted in various places of Kashmir, including Srinagar, over the last three decades. “A vast chunk of agricultural land has been buried in the Srinagar outskirts. Hundreds of structures, including complexes and shops, have come up on agricultural land,” said Abdul Hamid, a local.

Official records show that in 2012, around 162,000 hectares in Kashmir were used for paddy cultivation. By 2023, more than 33,000 hectares—or roughly 81,249 acres—had been lost, bringing the total area under rice farming down to just 129,000 hectares.

Retired IAS officer and former Advisor to J&K Governor, Khurshid Ahmed Ganai told Greater Kashmir that farming as an occupation and source of income in rural areas was fast losing its importance due to the growth of the services sector, poor returns in agriculture, and high market rates of land being bought for construction purposes.

Ganai lamented the “government’s lack of will and innovative ideas to curb land conversion and promote agriculture as a viable economic activity for farmers.”

He also expressed disappointment over the growing disconnect between agricultural universities and departments on one side and the farming community on the other.

"The department of agriculture was not raising the red flag and was acting indifferent to the rapid conversion of agricultural land and had failed to impress upon successive governments in recent years to stop land conversion", said Ganai.

He also warned that agriculture as an economic activity in Jammu and Kashmir will disappear in a decade or so if corrective steps are not taken.

"The government must come down heavily on land conversion", Ganai added.

A senior agricultural scientist, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned that over 50 percent of the remaining paddy land could be lost within the next decade. “Apart from construction, many farmers are also shifting to alternative crops such as high-density varieties of drupes and apples, as they offer higher income compared to paddy,” he said.

Director of Agriculture, Sarjat Ahmad Shah, acknowledged that a significant percentage of agricultural land has been converted over the past decade.

"I can't predict how much land will be converted in the coming years, but the pace is alarming," Shah said. He attributed the ongoing conversion to unregulated construction and a growing shift towards horticulture farming.