PATHANAMTHITTA: A paddy farming experiment initiated by a couple at Perunad in Ranni, a first in the hilly village known for its rubber plantations, appears to be succeeding as the cultivation has given a hundred per cent yield.
At a time when rubber prices are not showing any significant improvement, Radhamani and her husband Mohanan Pillai, who got interested in taking up paddy cultivation, turned one-and-a-half acres of marshland into a paddyfield after taking it on lease.
Amid the hot summer, they were busy pumping water into the farm after digging a well on the land that is surrounded by rubber plantations such as Harrisons Estate and Carmel Estate.
As short-duration paddy varieties were not available in the area, they were brought from Alappuzha with the help of Krishi Bhavans there. These varieties can be harvested in 90 days.
Fighting adverse weather and challenges in taking up paddy cultivation which was alien to the area, the couple started to get results of their hard work. Apart from rice cultivation on one-and-a-half acres, they also started millet cultivation on one acre of land, another experiment in a similar line.
The initiative of the couple got tremendous support from the panchayat and Krishi Bhavan as there was no paddy field in Perunad panchayat. The local authorities who took the couple’s mission also aim to spread such ventures in the locality.
The couple said they wanted to continue the rice cultivation twice a year while planning to grow sesame seeds for the rest of the year.