KOZHIKODE: Youngsters have always been blamed for the rapidly shrinking farming community in rural areas of the state. Many cite the youths’ decision to migrate to other cities in search of white-collar jobs, abandoning agriculture in the process, as a major reason for this decline.
Amid all this, a group of techies from UL CyberPark under the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) is setting an example for all, including youngsters, taking up farming in their workplace. The group came together to cultivate paddy in around 70 cents of land adjacent to the park in Kozhikode.
“Apart from rice, vegetables and fruits were also cultivated on the land,” said ULCCS chairman Ramesan Paleri.
Besides boosting the state’s agriculture sector, the initiative also proved to be stress buster for the techies.
“At a time when there is widespread concern about the mental stress of IT professionals, various crops are being grown on the CyberPark’s vast premises with the aim to provide mental peace and a good environment to the employees here,” Ramesan said.
Rainwater is being used for the initiative. To harness it, a 70,000-litre capacity storage tank has been built in the IT park. The garden maintenance staff lends support to the techies.
The group successfully cultivate Raktasali, a type of rice with high productivity and possessing medicinal properties. “The fact that it requires little water was crucial as we are going through extreme climate change,” said an official. In fact, promoting agriculture at all its project sites and institutions is one of the policies of ULCCS.
The initiative also added a dash of greenery to the park, allowing the techies a calming view amid their busy and stressful schedule. The authorities are planning to set up benches and provide Wi-Fi at the site, to let the staff hangout amid the fruit trees.
UL Technology Solutions CEO Murali Gopalan inaugurated the harvest festival of paddy, fruits and vegetables at the UL CyberPark campus.