: As heavy lain lashed Manikkal panchayat at Pirappancode on Monday, it does not seem to be best start for Polivu, a programme launched across the State by Kudumbasree to achieve self-sufficiency in food production.
Less than a handful of women are to be seen on a plot of land abutting a canal in ward 13 of the panchayat. Though sowing is set to get under way, only a few pits are ready. As more women trickle in, panchayat vice-president Kuthirakulam K. Jayan arrives to launch the programme. He sows seeds of lady’s finger and long beans in a couple of pits, besides giving the women some tips.
Indian cucumber will also be grown on the 20 cents of land by the Area Development Society (ADC).
“Though each unit is required to cultivate only on two cents of land, the ADS decided to farm 20 cents,” says Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana block coordinator Anandu R. Jayan. This is apart from what individual Kudumbasree units are doing, he says.
Seeds from VFPC
The seeds from the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council (VFPC), Keralam, are supplied through the Krishi Bhavan.
Radhamani, who is a microenterprise convener, says the ADS has another plot of land nearby where it will grow tomatoes and a type of chilli.
The plots, she says, have been taken on lease as little land is idle in the panchayat. “We did not have to pay any money though. We can farm on this plot till Onam. There are no such stipulations for the other plot.”
The land, she says, became available only on Sunday, and could not cleared up completely. But once that is done, pits can be prepared and seeds sown. “The work will be over by Tuesday,” she says.
Polivu aims at a good harvest around Onam, but the ADS members worry whether the crops will be ready by then.
Integration
Mr. Jayan says farming will be integrated with other aims of Polivu such as waste management and conservation of water resources and soil.
“There is much non-segregated waste lying all over the panchayat. We will remove it once in association with the Suchitwa Mission. Then, we will put in place a programme to ensure that waste is segregated,” he says.
Biodegradable waste management will be decentralised. Vermicomposting will be done and biogas plants set up. Kudumbasree units will be roped in to make compost. This will be sold or used by the units involved in farming. Non-biodegradable waste will be collected at regular intervals and taken to a collection centre where a recycling mechanism will be set up, or it will be handed over to some agency. Use of compost and biofertilizers for farming will help soil conservation.
The Kudumbasree members hope Poliv will prove to be a success, more than their earlier initiatives such as making soaps, lotions, or even mushroom farming which did not find a large enough market.
Last year, the panchayat got the award for maximum output at the district agri fete held in connection with the District Kudumbasree Mission anniversary.
