The lungi clad K S Vidhu Narayanan would never appear to be a person who has spent a decade working for a multinational company in Saudi Arabia. He decided to call it quits to take up the job of a farmer, engaging in paddy cultivation taking land on lease, at Kottapadam in Chittur taluk. Now, Vidhu is making profits to the tune of Rs 3.60 lakh annually from paddy cultivation in two seasons.
“It was just one year ago that I decided to take 20 acres of land on lease. I was fortunate to have a pond in the leased land for the irrigation purpose and a river close by, from where I could pump in water when necessary“, said Vidhu Narayanan to Express.
“The paddy seed we grow is Ponmani which has a comparatively long gestation period. We also grow paddy varieties like Uma, AST, Harsha, Kanjana, Sujatha and Jyothi,” said Mani, one of the eight regularly employed workers.
“Most of the operations are mechanised right from ploughing and transplanting till harvesting,” said Kunjuvila, a woman worker.
Jaikumaran, professor and head of the Agriculture Research Station at Mannuthy said that the services of trained members of thozhil sena under the Food Security Mission, who are adept in handling all types of agricultural machineries, is made available in the farm.
“ When the paddy saplings are two to three weeks old we bring nearly 2,500 ducklings (25 day old) from Tamil Nadu and leave them in these fields. The ducklings move fast among the saplings and it prevents weeds from sprouting. The ducklings are kept in the fields for three months. This method was recommended by the Mannuthy Agricultural Research Station,“ Vidhu said.
“This system, of leaving 80 to 100 ducklings per acre of land, has been successfully experimented in the kole lands of Thrissur and in countries like Philippines and Vietnam. When the paddy ripens they are moved out,“ professor Jaikumaran said.
Besides paddy, vegetables and bananas are also grown here.
“I sell them to the kudumbashree women directly so that the need for middlemen is avoided.
“In paddy cultivation the results are known in three to four months unlike in the case of rubber, where we have to wait for seven or more years before it starts yielding income,” says Vidhu. “Agriculture is a full time activity and it needs total involvement by a dedicated person,” Vidhu shares his secret of success.
