KOCHI: On April 22, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stressed the need to turn self-sufficient in food grains. The words have propelled a new initiative which will see Kerala going green.While the Agriculture Department, along with the local-self-government bodies, was already planning vegetable cultivation projects, the announcement of Subhiksha Keralam set in motion various initiatives in this regard, resulting in public thronging local agriculture offices with enquiries.
Around 3.5 lakh vegetable seed packets were distributed in the district by the Agriculture Department.
“These packets contained seeds of varieties such as spinach, long beans, lady’s fingers, cucumber and brinjal. Projects such as Jeevani Sanjeevani and Subiksha Keralam have motivated people to begin farming in whatever piece of land they own. Simultaneously, there are several who grow seedlings in grow bags in the city,” said Mini Thomas, assistant principal agricultural officer, Ernakulam. She said fallow land has been identified for cultivation by the Local-Self Government Department under Subhiksha Keralam.
The Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Councils in the district have been flooded with enquires and visitors seeking various seeds, saplings, grow bags and farming equipment. “We have noted at least a 50 per cent increase across all our offices. In the wake of the pandemic, people have realised the perils of the borders being closed. There were uncertainties on the supply of vegetables from Tamil Nadu.
Coupled with it, there is a tendency to buy fruit seeds right before the monsoon season. Tomatoes, lady’s fingers, spinach and coconut seedlings are in high demand. Among the visitors, flat residents dominate over the lot. People are even willing to cultivate in just the five cents of land they have. Even though our centres are crowded, we’re able to maintain social distancing,” said Sunil Paul, deputy manager, Krishi Business Kendra.
The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in the state set up an online advisory immediately after the CM’s message on self-sustenance. “We received around 500 messages and calls over the initial period. Kerala is primarily a consumer state -- we receive our rice, fruits and vegetables from other states. But the public was wary about the sudden hurdles over the inflow of food. As a result, they spent all their energy on cultivating food. Owing to the lockdown, one has plenty of time to spare,” said Dr Shinoj Subramannian, chief scientist, KVK.