Place no bar to grow vegetables

The State government will promote organic farming of vegetables on a commercial scale in 1,000 grama panchayats in Kerala. Campuses of educational institutions, courtyards and rooftops of houses in urban areas and land lying fallow in rural areas will be used for growing vegetables to meet the whopping domestic demand.The government will extend low-interest loans and provide technical expertise and training to cultivators. It will rope in the private sector and non-governmental organisations to make the scheme a success. The land in the control of government institutions will also be used for vegetable cultivation. The government is also planning to set up 1,000 organic farming villages in the State. Collectively-farmed 5 hectares of land will be reckoned as one organic farming village. It hopes to organically farm 5,000 hectares of land and produce 1.5 lakh tonnes of vegetables monthly. In urban areas, the project will be implemented with the help of homemakers and unemployed women. It will form 25,000 farming units with 2 cents of land each in the five municipal corporations. Each unit will be given a subsidy of Rs.200. The government will also fund the setting up of vegetable farms on the campuses of educational institutions. It will give Rs.5,000 as financial aid for every 20 cents of farmland in schools and colleges. Such schools will be provided with assistance up to Rs.15,000 for setting up irrigation systems. Students, school managements and teachers involved in the project will be given incentives and awards on the basis of their productivity. The project will be implemented this year in at least 100 schools. The government has earmarked Rs.50 lakh for setting up organic vegetable farming groups. It will also release funds for enlisting the help of the community in sustaining the environment, including conservation of ecologically important plants, herbs and trees. The government has set apart Rs.100 lakh to be distributed as low-interest loans to organic vegetable farmers. It has also announced special incentive packages for retailers of organic agricultural products. The project will be monitored at the panchayat level by a committee headed by the local Agricultural Officer. At the State level, the Agriculture Minister will be the chairman of the committee which will monitor the implementation of the project.

The Hindu, 10^th July 2008