Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar inaugurated the Samridhi fallow-land organic farming initiative at Kerala University’s College for Teacher Education in Karyavattom.
At the event the Minister called for concerted efforts to tackle climate change and said it was high time Keralites changed their consumerist culture. Safe food should also be an aim along with food security.
While addressing at the event he said, “The State is nowhere near achieving self-sufficiency in paddy cultivation. It produces only 6 lakh tonnes of paddy whereas the requirement is 40 lakh tonnes a year. In the case of vegetables, internal production meets just half of the requirement. This year, paddy fields in Kuttanad are expected to yield an additional 65,000 tonnes on account of the post-flood interventions of the Agriculture Department.”
The aim of Samridhi is of growing vegetables in land lying unused in urban areas and to instil a love for farming in the younger generation. The initiative also includes a component where vacant plots are used for agriculture with the owner’s consent. In such cases, a lease agreement would be signed.
Volunteers from nearby schools, colleges and clubs will also be trained to undertake the farming projects. After the harvest is done, the produce will go on sale on the spot. The owner of the land will get a share of the harvest.
