Kerala polls: In Palakkad, a farmer fights for a cause, hopes to procure votes
In Palakkad, an organic farmer is contesting as an independent candidate. Raghu Mathur , who has been a farmer for several decades, said that Palakkad, despite being the largest producer of paddy in the state, has been neglected and none of three main fronts has ever tried to protect and consider the pleas of the farmers here.
Around 12 independent farmer organizations are supporting his candidature. “We all pooled in some money for the election campaign charges. State govt, over the years, have been announcing Kuttanad package, Idukki package, Wayanad package, etc. but till date no govt has thought about a Palakkad package to support the farmers here,” Mathur said.
In Palakkad, people are ready to cultivate paddy and lease on their own without working as a cluster. “I have about four acres where I cultivate paddy. I cultivated 10 tonnes of paddy and gave it to Supplyco for procurement.
In return, they give me money as credit. Money that should come to me as payment is written as credit. This brings down my CIBIL score drastically from 750 to 650. This strange system takes my paddy produce and yet puts me in debt. The other day when I went to buy a Rs 10,000 mobile for my son for his studies, they refused to give me a loan because of my low CIBIL score,” said Mathur.
He said that this is how the farmers are treated. All the three main fronts have ruled the Centre and state for several years. “Yet, all of them have pushed us further into crisis,” he added. The CM and the PM came in the last two days but they did not talk of easing the procurement process.
“The Left and the UDF have already failed us. But recently even the NDA leaders, including the district BJP leadership, promised that they would get the Centre to procure the grains when they called a meeting here in Palakkad. They still haven’t kept the promise. Four months ago, we were all called in to join the statelevel protests in front of the secretariat and the NDA leaders promised all support. But till date, nothing has happened,” he said.
There are about 40,000 farmers in Palakkad district. According to the economic review 2025, Palakkad has recorded the highest increase in both area and production of rice in 2024-25, with the increase in area by 1.82% and production showing a substantial increase of 18% over the previous year. The district tops in the state with paddy cultivation in 65,561.88 hectares and the total production is 2,15,140.87 MT with a productivity of 3,281 kg per ha.
Farmer organizations are helping manage Mathur’s campaign. “We may not garner much votes but we want to remind the political parties that there are farmers in Palakkad who are toiling hard against severe hardships,” he said.
Around 12 independent farmer organizations are supporting his candidature. “We all pooled in some money for the election campaign charges. State govt, over the years, have been announcing Kuttanad package, Idukki package, Wayanad package, etc. but till date no govt has thought about a Palakkad package to support the farmers here,” Mathur said.
In Palakkad, people are ready to cultivate paddy and lease on their own without working as a cluster. “I have about four acres where I cultivate paddy. I cultivated 10 tonnes of paddy and gave it to Supplyco for procurement.
In return, they give me money as credit. Money that should come to me as payment is written as credit. This brings down my CIBIL score drastically from 750 to 650. This strange system takes my paddy produce and yet puts me in debt. The other day when I went to buy a Rs 10,000 mobile for my son for his studies, they refused to give me a loan because of my low CIBIL score,” said Mathur.
He said that this is how the farmers are treated. All the three main fronts have ruled the Centre and state for several years. “Yet, all of them have pushed us further into crisis,” he added. The CM and the PM came in the last two days but they did not talk of easing the procurement process.
“The Left and the UDF have already failed us. But recently even the NDA leaders, including the district BJP leadership, promised that they would get the Centre to procure the grains when they called a meeting here in Palakkad. They still haven’t kept the promise. Four months ago, we were all called in to join the statelevel protests in front of the secretariat and the NDA leaders promised all support. But till date, nothing has happened,” he said.
There are about 40,000 farmers in Palakkad district. According to the economic review 2025, Palakkad has recorded the highest increase in both area and production of rice in 2024-25, with the increase in area by 1.82% and production showing a substantial increase of 18% over the previous year. The district tops in the state with paddy cultivation in 65,561.88 hectares and the total production is 2,15,140.87 MT with a productivity of 3,281 kg per ha.
Farmer organizations are helping manage Mathur’s campaign. “We may not garner much votes but we want to remind the political parties that there are farmers in Palakkad who are toiling hard against severe hardships,” he said.
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