ALAPPUZHA: Total paddy production in Kerala: 4.5 lakh tonnes. The demand: 20 lakh tonnes.
That picture of massive disparity is indeed worrisome for a state which once held pole position in paddy production. Along with the increasingly fickle weather pattern, the rising cost too has hampered the paddy cultivation sector over the years.
Is there an escape route? Muttar model farming could be one option.
The five-year long experiments carried out by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research in association with the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kayamkulam, have been successful in evolving a comprehensive farming method immune to the climatic changes and ever-escalating cost.
It has been developed under the 'National Innovation in Climate Resilient Agriculture’, a Central government project to develop weather-proof farming methods. The Centre had identified 100 villages across the country for the project with Muttar panchayat being Kerala’s sole representative.
P Muraleedharan, head and senior scientist at the KVK, said the production of paddy was increased by more than 15 per cent and the cost was reduced by nearly 30 per cent. “The scientists from ICAR and the KVK worked hard for the last five years. A proposal has been forwarded to the government to implement the Muttar model farming in the state,” he said.
Now, the model is not restricted to Muttar alone but many other farmers in Kuttanad have been trying it. “The Agriculture Department has started conducting awareness programmes under the ‘Good Agriculture Practice’ scheme. Several farmers are keen to try this method after seeing paddy, high in quantity and quality, getting produced at a low cost,” said A G Abdul Karim, principal agricultural officer, Kuttanad.
P A Thomas, secretary of the Mulavanakari Padasekhra Samithi, Muttar, said the new method has been gaining popularity and farmers are increasingly migrating to it. “I have presented the Muttar model farming, purely organic, in Hyderabad and Bengalru and at other ICAR centres. We have not used pesticides at the Mulavanakari paddy field for the last five years,” he said.
No chemical pesticides, only ‘tricho card’ - a parasitoid - is used to destroy pests
Growth period reduced to 70 to 80 days from 100 to 120 days
Harvesting time reduced by 50 per cent
Nearly two-and-half hours needed for harvesting per acre in conventional farming.
Under Muttar method just over an hour is required. The rent of harvester is Rs 1,650 per hour