The shrinking space
Maraaz, the local name given to south Kashmir areas like Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian, and Pulwama is considered as a crop producing belt that catered to the needs of the entire valley.
Though the demand for staple food, rice stands at 900,000 quintals per year, this region alone produced 500,000 quintals. This produce is obtained from 53,000 hectares of land out of 1.40 lakh hectares that account for the valley’s remaining paddy area.
However, over the years Kashmir has been witnessing a steep decline in paddy cultivation, which if left unaddressed can create a serious situation in the coming years.
The vast stretches of paddy fields that once formed the backbone of Kashmir’s rural economy are steadily shrinking, with both official data and ground reports indicating a sustained decline in rice cultivation across the Valley.
According to agriculture department figures, the area under paddy in Jammu and Kashmir has fallen from over 1.6 lakh hectares a decade ago to around 1.4 lakh hectares in recent years. Production has also seen fluctuations, largely due to erratic weather patterns, declining water availability and shrinking cultivable land.
Rice remains the staple food of the Valley, traditionally cultivated in districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Budgam, Baramulla and parts of Ganderbal. However, increasing urban expansion and changing economic priorities have led to large-scale conversion of fertile paddy land into residential colonies, commercial spaces and, in some cases, orchards.
Ironically, the returns on paddy cultivation are low compared to the effort. Labour costs have gone up, and water is no longer reliable. This is being witnessed since the past several years now as paddy cultivation dries up during peak summer season as no water is available for irrigational purposes.
Farmers across south Kashmir echoed similar concerns, particularly over irrigation. Many say traditional canal systems, once sustained by steady snowfall and glacial melt, are no longer dependable.
Notably, the climate variability has further compounded the problem. Untimely rains, prolonged dry spells and rising temperatures have disrupted the traditional sowing and harvesting cycles, reducing both yield and predictability.
Even in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, people are moving to horticulture or in worse situations leaving the land idle. Experts warn that the decline in paddy cultivation could have serious implications for the region’s food security.
Kashmir already relies heavily on rice imports from other parts of the country and any further drop in local production could worsen that dependence.
Though this trend is hard to reverse but still efforts need to be put in place to arrest the decline in rice production. The government needs to focus on promoting high-yielding seed varieties, mechanisation and better irrigation facilities.
A policy needs to be framed that can help the farmers to overcome economic pressures, environmental change and policy gaps. Food security for the region is a must and the sooner a policy is framed to ensure increased production, the better it will be for the region.
