VADAKARA: With sheer determination and hard work, Fathima M, a middle-aged farmer in Pathiyarakkara near here, is scripting a success story.
Living on the banks of Murad river, she, for the past five years, has been engaged in the cultivation of arrowroot(koova)and is earning rich profits. Her success has added sweetness because the place is commonly known as non-conducive for cultivating most of the agriculture products other than coconut, owing to its closeness to sea and the presence of salt in the soil.
Narrating her success in the field, Fathima said, “it was after my children’s marriage I thought of doing something interesting to kill time and to earn money to stand on my own feet. I preferred agriculture, and ventured into orchid and mushroom cultivation on my own land. But unfortunately, it wouldn’t taste success owing to the presence of salt in the soil. Later, I happened to read an article about the arrowroot cultivation and on an experimental basis started doing it in a small part of land five years ago. It yielded 50 kilograms of arrowroot in the first year itself.”
At present, she is cultivating in five acres of land and produces more than 500 kilograms of arrowroot powder per year. She has also become an entrepreneur by starting a firm Reem Arrowroot Products to market the powder and is earning more than Rs 2 lakh every year. Terming her success as exemplary, M Moossa Haji, her husband, says,“normally women from our community would not embark on these kind of activities. It is her vision and the wish to stand on her own feet which made her successful.”
Fathima is also different in her method of cultivation. She does not use pesticides and is practising organic farming.
“As the arrowroot is considered as a medicine our main objective is to provide the best quality products for the people without adulteration and so we are practising organic farming,” she said.
Apart from selling the products to various shops and wholesale dealers, she also market the powder and products directly to the customers by opening stalls in fairs and exhibitions around the region.
