Protests are brewing against the alleged move to conduct year-round Vannamei shrimp farming in kari (pokkali) fields.

According to the Kerala State Janakeeya Prathirodha Samithi (KSJPS), attempts are being made to expand shrimp farming in a way that would be detrimental to the interests of inland fishers, agricultural workers and subsistence farmers.

“Year-round, large-scale Vannamei shrimp cultivation in kari lands will harm paddy and vegetable farming, as well as the environment. Kari lands were transformed into centres of paddy and vegetable cultivation through decades of human labour, without the aid of machinery or modern systems. During the paddy cultivation season, which extends from the southwest monsoon to the northeast monsoon, the rainwater collected in the fields plays a crucial role in protecting groundwater sources from salinisation. If saline water-based shrimp farming is permitted in these fields throughout the year, the adjoining residential areas will gradually turn into barren lands,” said Francis Kalathunkal of KSJPS.

The KSJPS said the shrimp farming would not only contaminate groundwater sources but also accelerate the deterioration of buildings and other infrastructure due to the constant presence of salt. “It will ring the death-knell for paddy and vegetable farming. Fruit-bearing trees, including coconut palms, will be lost. Freshwater aquatic life will be destroyed. As a result, the livelihood of hundreds of inland fishers will be wiped out,” it said.

‘Support by ruling party’

The Samithi expressed concern over the support extended by the “labour wing of a key party in the ruling Left Democratic Front” for Vannamei shrimp farming.

Pokkali paddy cultivation has received a Geographical Indication tag and is listed on the United Nations’ red conservation list. The integrated pokkali farming method, which follows a One Rice and One Fish cycle, is practised in five coastal taluks of Cherthala, Kochi, Kanayannur, Paravur and Kodungallur in Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts. As per the government-mandated crop calendar, pokkali fields are to be used exclusively for paddy cultivation from mid-April to mid-November every year. Saline aquaculture is permissible during the remaining five months, when salinity levels are high in adjacent water bodies.

The committee demanded that the government clarify the circumstances that led it to consider an amendment to the One Rice and One Fish cycle. “Authorities should not forget that Vannamei shrimp cultivation has triggered environmental issues in other States,” the KSJPS said.