ALAPPUZHA: It is not everyday that a couple of small coastal villages become role models for an entire State or influence national policy. But Mararikulam North and the neighbouring Kanjikuzhy panchayat here have done this, more than once.
The self-sufficiency both these villages have achieved in vegetable cultivation, with no household here having to depend on markets elsewhere, was the first step. This was not easy, because the geography here boasted just sandy tracts, with fertility and water being extreme scarcities. Still, in 1996, with less than Rs.60,000 to buy seeds and fertilizers, Kanjikuzhy set out to see that all households, even those with the tiniest of plots, had at least one vegetable cultivated. Mararikulam North followed suit.
Target met in 4 years
“The Panchayat Development Society (PDS) gave incentives for vegetable cultivation and ensured a strong marketing system, and the outcome was that vegetable ‘import' into the region came to a halt. Self-sufficiency was achieved in less than four years,” says Mararikulam North panchayat president D. Priyesh Kumar.
Housewives, pensioners and farmers saw steady incomes and after successful experiments of seashore organic vegetable cultivation, they became the first panchayats in the country to declare benchmark (floor) prices for 19 varieties of organically cultivated vegetables, which meant that the farmers would not incur losses due to fluctuating market prices.
Battle against Bt
Just when things appeared to be moving smoothly, the Bt brinjal controversy erupted. The people of Mararikulam, where an indigenous variety of brinjal has been popular for decades, saw this as a threat. They reacted. Mass production of Mararikulam brinjal seeds, production of brinjal pickles by self-help-groups, popularisation of brinjal cultivation in every household and then, a first-of-its-kind Brinjal Festival, followed. The festival was what turned the tables on Bt brinjal. The opinion of scientists, organic farming experts and the massive public demand generated from the festival, along with protests across the nation, saw the Centre declare a moratorium on the release of the genetically modified version.
Now, as Mararikulam North is looking to master precision farming, Kanjikuzhy is aiming at self-reliance in all aspects, and in turn, total food security. “From vegetables, we are moving on to all crops, including paddy. The MGNREGS and other schemes are being utilised. A Rs.4-crore project is in progress for cashew cultivation. Medicinal plant cultivation is being encouraged in all households and every bit of fallow land is being made cultivable,” says Kanjikuzhy panchayat president P. Anil Kumar.
source:The Hindu 3rd July 2010
The self-sufficiency both these villages have achieved in vegetable cultivation, with no household here having to depend on markets elsewhere, was the first step. This was not easy, because the geography here boasted just sandy tracts, with fertility and water being extreme scarcities. Still, in 1996, with less than Rs.60,000 to buy seeds and fertilizers, Kanjikuzhy set out to see that all households, even those with the tiniest of plots, had at least one vegetable cultivated. Mararikulam North followed suit.
Target met in 4 years
“The Panchayat Development Society (PDS) gave incentives for vegetable cultivation and ensured a strong marketing system, and the outcome was that vegetable ‘import' into the region came to a halt. Self-sufficiency was achieved in less than four years,” says Mararikulam North panchayat president D. Priyesh Kumar.
Housewives, pensioners and farmers saw steady incomes and after successful experiments of seashore organic vegetable cultivation, they became the first panchayats in the country to declare benchmark (floor) prices for 19 varieties of organically cultivated vegetables, which meant that the farmers would not incur losses due to fluctuating market prices.
Battle against Bt
Just when things appeared to be moving smoothly, the Bt brinjal controversy erupted. The people of Mararikulam, where an indigenous variety of brinjal has been popular for decades, saw this as a threat. They reacted. Mass production of Mararikulam brinjal seeds, production of brinjal pickles by self-help-groups, popularisation of brinjal cultivation in every household and then, a first-of-its-kind Brinjal Festival, followed. The festival was what turned the tables on Bt brinjal. The opinion of scientists, organic farming experts and the massive public demand generated from the festival, along with protests across the nation, saw the Centre declare a moratorium on the release of the genetically modified version.
Now, as Mararikulam North is looking to master precision farming, Kanjikuzhy is aiming at self-reliance in all aspects, and in turn, total food security. “From vegetables, we are moving on to all crops, including paddy. The MGNREGS and other schemes are being utilised. A Rs.4-crore project is in progress for cashew cultivation. Medicinal plant cultivation is being encouraged in all households and every bit of fallow land is being made cultivable,” says Kanjikuzhy panchayat president P. Anil Kumar.
source:The Hindu 3rd July 2010
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