Chennai,   Heavy pre-monsoon showers in several parts of Tamil Nadu have impacted the Kurvai paddy farmers of the state.

With the farmers in harvest mode and storing the grains, heavy rains before the advent of the northeast monsoon by October end has led to huge losses to the farmers.

Kumaresan, a paddy farmer from Erode district of Tamil Nadu told IANS said, "We are in harvest mode now and the harvesting machines cannot be used in the fields inundated by rain water. This is going to be our waterloo as the District Procuring Centres will also not take our produce as the moisture content is high due to the rains."

It may be noted that if the paddy is higher than 17 per cent of moisture content, there will be difficulties in procuring paddy. The Tamil Nadu government have already petitioned the central government to increase the moisture content norms from 17 per cent to 23 per cent.

The Meteorological Department has predicted heavy rains in Tamil Nadu till October 18 and this will be another major issue to be confronted by the Kuruvai paddy farmers in the days to come as harvesting and storing of paddy would be even more difficult.

The IMD has predicted isolated very heavy rains in parts of Tamil Nadu on October 17 and 18 and this will directly affect the farmers.

According to weatherman, heavy rains are predicted in Villupuram, Myladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Erode, Salem, Kallakurichi, Permaballur, Tiruvannamalai on Saturday and most of the farmers are struck by the prediction.

Surulikumaran, a farmer at Myladuthurai while speaking to IANS said, " The prediction of rains is giving sleepless nights to most of the farmers as the ordeal and pain for the whole year will go awry and we don't know how we will be able to manage in the days to come if the crop is lost."

The farmers have urged the state government to step in and to buy as much paddy that has been harvested and to relax on the moisture content in paddy.