THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: School children in the district are contributing their bit to the ambitious Harita Keralam mission by planning around 100 vegetable farms in their school premises.
They will also take home the message of organic farming. Three lakh packets of vegetable seeds have been kept ready for them. Schools in 45 panchayats have been selected for the mission based on the availability of water. Each school has to spare 5 to 10 cents of land for the vegetable farm. Children from primary upto Plus Two will be part of the organic farming initiative.
Teachers and members of the PTA will act as guides, but the project will be led by the students themselves. Grama panchayat will implement the project, which is being funded by the district panchayat. Technical support for farming will come from the agriculture department. According to officials, the initiative was undertaken to increase affinity for farming among students.
The mission, which also focuses on waste disposal at source and cleaning of water bodies, is slated to be rolled out on December 8, along with programs on education, housing and health. Ward level launches will focus on cleaning public wells, ponds, canals, conservation of soil, rainwater harvesting etc.