K K Vijayan is on the breadline. But, that never deterred him from nurturing his passion - farming. It was this passion which prompted the government to acknowledge his painstaking efforts and honour him as the best farmer in 2009 and 2012.
Vijayan’s father was a small-scale farmer. Naturally, he inherited the taste and skill which made him realise that it was farming where his heart and soul lay. And, going a step further, he has now started organising exhibition for school children from January 25 to 29.
“This is the third consecutive year that I have been organising exhibitions for the school students. The entry is free. Financial constraints are there, but I am going ahead with it as children can reap benefits out of it,” he says. Vijayan says he has invited about 52 schools in the district to his exhibitions which will be held at Thuthiyoor. The highlights of the exhibition will be the display of traditional as well as modern equipment.“Around 20 such equipment will be displayed in the exhibition. Traditional equipments would give them a vivid picture of the past and how agriculture progressed since then,” he says.
Apart from cultivating his own land, he has also undertaken farming on leased lands. “After undertaking farming on my 42 cents of land, I thought of extending my activities to leased lands too, which was going quite well too. But of late, I had to forgo some leased land as it has been given away to construct flats,” he said.
Though Vijayan was doing his BSC Botany, he could not complete it due to his physical ailments. “I had to undergo a surgery for heart ailment due to which I had to drop my studies. I opted for Botany for I thought it could be of immense help while pursuing agriculture,” he said.