TIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Arare earthy charm soaks the whole area. The ground appears to burst with paddy. R Raveendran’s rooftop blooms in a green glory as the paddy grown in pots get all ready to be harvested. It is a green, organic revolution of sorts. Since 1996, every year, the rooftop of his house has been witnessing paddy cultivation - and how!
Raveendran has taken dry land paddy cultivation to a whole new level by cultivating paddy on his rooftop. The velvety green blanket of paddy varieties such as Uma, Prathiyasha and Rakthashali cloaks the rooftop. The 300 sq ft area of the terrace is dotted with pots that bear the paddy. Paddy has been grown in 150 plastic pots. “Close to 32 kg of paddy is expected to be harvested from this. A portion of the paddy will be used to generate seeds which will be distributed to farming enthusiasts,” says Raveendran.
Having been born into an agricultural family, agriculture was part of his life ever since his school days, until he finally moved abroad. And when he came back, he invested himself in experimenting the various frontiers of agriculture. Apart from paddy, myriad vegetable varieties dot his rooftop. A recipient of the IARI Fellow Farmer Award 2017 instituted by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Raveendran shot to fame after he grew a giant African yam (kaachil).
“Even crops such as rice can be readily grown in our homes. This doesn’t require heavy investment. By growing your own veggies, you get to have pesticide-free food,” says the farmer. “We can cultivate paddy like this thrice a year. Since we are following the dry land cultivation, it doesn’t require water in excess. You need to water it just once a week,” he adds.Raveendran uses only the organic fertilisers that he has fashioned out from his experiments. “More than 100 varieties of herbs have been used to make the Hridayamritham. Right now I am trying to experiment more in it,” he adds.