KOCHI:Summer vacations are up once again, and it is celebrated no less than any other festivals. With time in their hands to kill, and gangs to chill, the restless younger ones back home are definitely giving the older ones a hard time and thankfully, that’s where the summer camps and fests come in. The city has already prepped up for the biggest summer festival with ReDFM which launched the Agro and Food Fest at Putharikandom Maithanam, which was inaugurated by Suresh Gopi MP on Friday.
This 17-day agricultural fest comprises agricultural exhibition, seminars on effective farming techniques and training workshops conducted by agricultural engineers and scientists. There is also a demonstration of aquaponics, the practice of pisciculture with horticulture.
Another attraction is a rural ecosystem by Ravi C M, the winner of Haritha Mitra award. This model is complete with huts, farms, backyard gardens, bullock carts and a pond with fish. Over 30 varieties of mangoes have been put on sale. Apart from popular mangoes like the Alphonso, Bhanganapalli and Badami, this exhibition also has a few rare ones including a sweet dwarf mango called Chakkara Kutty and Udhadut, a coconut-sized mango from Rajasthan. In the coming days, the fest will also host a plant nursery exhibiting other traditional and foreign fruiting plants as well.
Food stalls have also been set up. Rafeeq, known for his 100 jackfruit recipes, has now come up with a stall selling 100 dishes made using the various parts of the banana plant. In the fest, his stall provides 11 varieties of traditionally grown tubers dishes. Besides this, they are also teaching the visitors the recipes of the food on display. The fest will conclude on May 20.