Chapter - 2 TRANSFORMATION OF PADDY FARMING SECTOR IN KUTTANAD REGION 2.1 Specific Features of Paddy Cultivation in Kuttanad Kuttanad region which represents the low- lying lands measuring 25 kilometers east west and 60 kilometers north south is one of the two major rice producing areas in Kerala. The
region is often termed as the rice bowl of the state. Originally it was part of the coastal area of the Arabian Sea, which became a shallow bay due to a geological uplift. The incessant inflow of silt carried
by the rivers Meenachil, Pamba, Achencoil and Manimala over thousands of years accumulated in this shallow bay and gradually made it an extensive brackish water lagoon and backwater system extending from Alapuzha in the south to Kochi in the north. In course of time the shallow parts of the lagoon further silted up by the river systems became wetlands while the deeper parts of it still remain as backwaters Kuttanad region consists of 82 villages belonging to the taluks of Cherthala,
Ambalapuzha, Kuttanad, Karthigappally, Chengannur, and Mavelikkara
in Alapuzha district,
16 villages belonging to the Vaikkom and Kottayam taluks in Kottayam district and 4 villages of Thiruvalla taluk in Pathanamthitta district. It covers a total area of about 110 thousand hectares of which 31 thousand hectares are dry lands, 66 thousand hectares are wetlands and the remaining 13 thousand hectares are water
areas comprising of lakes, rivers, waterways and channels. Dry lands that lie 0.5 to 2.5 meters above the mean sea level (MSL) are mainly located at the peripheral areas of the region. Wetlands consists of the low lying areas slightly above the MSL and areas lying up to 2.5 meters below the MSL, which are reclaimed from the Vembanad lake. The soil in Kuttanad is a mixture of sand and clay in varying proportions. Generally inmost of the low lying areas the soil is highly acidic and contains toxic salts Depending on the type of soil the entire wetland area of the
region can be classified into kayal lands
(13000 ha.),
karappadams (33000 ha) and
kari lands (9000 ha. Kayal lands are reclaimed beds from Vembanad lake and are mainly located in Kuttanad and Kottayam taluks.
Karappadams are situated along the waterways and lakes mainly
in the eastern and southern 11
Indo-Dutch Mission (1989):
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