THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Agriculture Minister VS Sunil Kumar said the agriculture sector would be divided into five agro-ecological zones to promote farming in the future. The five zones - coastal plain, wetland, foothill, high hill and Palakkad plain - are based on geography, population, soil type and biodiversity. The minister said in the Assembly that Kerala Agriculture University had been entrusted with the task of framing a protocol for the agricultural practices in these zones.
He said the field trial of six paddy varieties developed by the university were underway in many parts of the state. The paddy varieties such as Manpriya, Maniratna, Lavanya and Jyotsna are drought resistant and can survive in saline water.
Sunil Kumar said a first-of-its-kind seed bank in the country would be commissioned soon in the state.
To promote paddy cultivation, the Agriculture Department is associating with Education Department to involve school children in celebrating ‘paddy day’, which traditionally falls in the Malayalam month of ‘Kanni’.
He said the state achieved a record yield of 8.41 lakh metric tonnes in 2017. The state would ensure farmers’ clusters are self-sufficient enough to export bananas and pineapples from next year.
Five agro zones
The zones - coastal plain, wetland, foothill, high hill and Palakkad plain - are based on geography, population, soil type and biodiversity.