Integrated farming works wonders for Kerala

Express News Service

KOCHI: The agriculture division is all smiles this Onam. Their built-in vegetable improvement programme has yielded outcomes, additional lowering Kerala’s dependency on different states to satisfy the demand for greens throughout the pageant.

Until a couple of years in the past, Kerala had been fully depending on neighbouring states to satisfy the demand. This is regularly altering because of cluster-based vegetable cultivation for the open market and homestead cultivation that encourages households to develop greens for private consumption.

According to Agriculture Minister P Prasad, Kerala will obtain 100 per cent self-sufficiency in vegetable manufacturing by 2026.   

This yr, the division has organised 2,000 Onam festivals the place farm produce, procured from farmers at a ten per cent larger price, are offered at a 30 per cent low cost. Integrated farming helped produce 33,191 tonnes of greens in August, the best lately. To obtain this, the division distributed 25 lakh vegetable seeds and 100 lakh seedlings to households, college students and social organisations. Besides, 116.66 lakh high-yield vegetable seedlings had been distributed to farmer collectives. 

“The state depends on other states mainly for onion and high-altitude vegetables like carrot, potato, beetroot, cauliflower and cabbage. Integrated farming has helped Kerala achieve near self-sufficiency in the production of other vegetables,” mentioned an agriculture division official. 

The division has highlighted the achievement of Kalliyur panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram and Elavanchery panchayat in Palakkad as success fashions.

Kalliyur panchayat

Kalliyur panchayat had deliberate 4 months prematurely to satisfy the Onam demand. Farmers had been educated in farming methods to provide safe-to-eat natural greens. The panchayat has 11 vegetable cultivation clusters, every unfold throughout 5 hectares. The manufacturing goal was 400 tonnes.

Long beans, bitter gourd, snake gourd, spinach, cucumber, pumpkin, bottle gourd, tomato, brinjal, inexperienced chilli and bhindi (women finger) are being cultivated on a complete of 55 hectares. The merchandise are marketed by way of Krishi Bhavan’s Ecoshop. The greens are delivered to prospects inside a 40-km radius at their doorsteps, mentioned agriculture officer C Swapna.

Besides, there are 212 farmers collectives that domesticate greens on 30 hectares. “We cultivated vegetables in fallow lands and vacant spaces on roadsides. Value-added products are being marketed online. We provide kits containing 22 vegetables for Rs 500 and cut-vegetable kits for Rs 800. There are 60 value-added products, including rice powder, various pickles, chips and jaggery banana chips (sarkara varatti),” Swapna mentioned.

The panchayat has round 1,000 farmers, a majority of whom are cultivating on leased farmlands. Around 600 farmers are a part of the clusters. Members of the collective are largely marginal farmers and MNREGS staff who attend to crops within the night after work. Krishi Bhavan markets uncooked rice below the model names Vellayani rice and Palapuru rice. Raag farmers’ collective is accountable for on-line advertising whereas the agriculture activity drive collects, segregates and delivers greens to prospects. Twelve labourers are tasked with packaging the value-added merchandise. 

Panangattiri mannequin

Farmers below the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Kerala (VFPCK) in Panangattiri hamlet of Elavanchery panchayat market 20 tonnes of bitter gourd and snake gourd on daily basis. Other merchandise are lengthy beans, ash gourd, snake gourd, bhindi and pumpkin. Brinjal, tomato and inexperienced chilli are cultivated sparsely. Villagers who used to domesticate paddy, groundnuts, yams, colocasia and bananas till twenty years in the past modified the crops on account of wild boar menace. “We receive order for supplying vegetables a day in advance and segregate them as per demand. Traders collect the produce from farmlands,” mentioned Madhu, the president of Elavanchery Farmers Self-Help Group.

KOCHI: The agriculture division is all smiles this Onam. Their built-in vegetable improvement programme has yielded outcomes, additional lowering Kerala’s dependency on different states to satisfy the demand for greens throughout the pageant.

Until a couple of years in the past, Kerala had been fully depending on neighbouring states to satisfy the demand. This is regularly altering because of cluster-based vegetable cultivation for the open market and homestead cultivation that encourages households to develop greens for private consumption.

According to Agriculture Minister P Prasad, Kerala will obtain 100 per cent self-sufficiency in vegetable manufacturing by 2026.   googletag.cmd.push(operate() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

This yr, the division has organised 2,000 Onam festivals the place farm produce, procured from farmers at a ten per cent larger price, are offered at a 30 per cent low cost. Integrated farming helped produce 33,191 tonnes of greens in August, the best lately. To obtain this, the division distributed 25 lakh vegetable seeds and 100 lakh seedlings to households, college students and social organisations. Besides, 116.66 lakh high-yield vegetable seedlings had been distributed to farmer collectives. 

“The state depends on other states mainly for onion and high-altitude vegetables like carrot, potato, beetroot, cauliflower and cabbage. Integrated farming has helped Kerala achieve near self-sufficiency in the production of other vegetables,” mentioned an agriculture division official. 

The division has highlighted the achievement of Kalliyur panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram and Elavanchery panchayat in Palakkad as success fashions.

Kalliyur panchayat

Kalliyur panchayat had deliberate 4 months prematurely to satisfy the Onam demand. Farmers had been educated in farming methods to provide safe-to-eat natural greens. The panchayat has 11 vegetable cultivation clusters, every unfold throughout 5 hectares. The manufacturing goal was 400 tonnes.

Long beans, bitter gourd, snake gourd, spinach, cucumber, pumpkin, bottle gourd, tomato, brinjal, inexperienced chilli and bhindi (women finger) are being cultivated on a complete of 55 hectares. The merchandise are marketed by way of Krishi Bhavan’s Ecoshop. The greens are delivered to prospects inside a 40-km radius at their doorsteps, mentioned agriculture officer C Swapna.

Besides, there are 212 farmers collectives that domesticate greens on 30 hectares. “We cultivated vegetables in fallow lands and vacant spaces on roadsides. Value-added products are being marketed online. We provide kits containing 22 vegetables for Rs 500 and cut-vegetable kits for Rs 800. There are 60 value-added products, including rice powder, various pickles, chips and jaggery banana chips (sarkara varatti),” Swapna mentioned.

The panchayat has round 1,000 farmers, a majority of whom are cultivating on leased farmlands. Around 600 farmers are a part of the clusters. Members of the collective are largely marginal farmers and MNREGS staff who attend to crops within the night after work. Krishi Bhavan markets uncooked rice below the model names Vellayani rice and Palapuru rice. Raag farmers’ collective is accountable for on-line advertising whereas the agriculture activity drive collects, segregates and delivers greens to prospects. Twelve labourers are tasked with packaging the value-added merchandise. 

Panangattiri mannequin

Farmers below the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Kerala (VFPCK) in Panangattiri hamlet of Elavanchery panchayat market 20 tonnes of bitter gourd and snake gourd on daily basis. Other merchandise are lengthy beans, ash gourd, snake gourd, bhindi and pumpkin. Brinjal, tomato and inexperienced chilli are cultivated sparsely. Villagers who used to domesticate paddy, groundnuts, yams, colocasia and bananas till twenty years in the past modified the crops on account of wild boar menace. “We receive order for supplying vegetables a day in advance and segregate them as per demand. Traders collect the produce from farmlands,” mentioned Madhu, the president of Elavanchery Farmers Self-Help Group.