KANNUR: In a first of its kind, five agriculture development cooperative banks from Kannur are coming together to unitedly start farming in the state.
What makes the Nabard-backed initiative extra special is that the consortium of banks plans to take up farming inside the Kannur Special Sub Jail. The move, among other things, will help the prison inmates relieve tension, authorities concerned said.
The project is the brainchild of a consortium of the Kannur, Payyannur, Taliparamba, Thalassery and Iritty taluk primary cooperative agricultural development banks. As per the project document, the consortium will cultivate paddy, vegetables and fruits in 2 acres of land inside the jail and 1.5 acres in Puzhathi panchayat.
“Discussions have already started. We believe the project will roll out soon,” said an official.
“Nabard will release `4 lakh in the first phase. Prisoners will be engaged in farming. This is expected to reduce their tension,” said the officer. The Kannur Special Sub Jail has around 122 prisoners.
The consortium plans to use 50 cents of land inside the jail and another 50 cents outside for paddy farming. The Agricultural University will provide technical assistance and guidance for the initiative. High-quality seeds will be used.
Since WHO has announced 2023 as the International Year of Millets, the consortium will carry out millet farming in around 50 cents of land. This apart, vegetables like tomato, green chilli, ladies finger, cucumber, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, eggplant and watermelon will be cultivated inside the jail.
The produce will be sold via jail outlets and the profit will be used to expand farming to more areas. Though agricultural development banks have carried out farming in the district at the individual level, this is for the first time a consortium has come up with such a project which will bring all the banks together so that their experience and expertise can be put to good use.