Water Resources Minister P.J. Joseph said on Tuesday that a generation having deep awareness on farming should be groomed and the Comprehensive Horticulture Development Plan is being implemented with this aim.
Inaugurating its district-level implementation at the Government Higher Secondary School, Kudayathur, he said that the plan is to provide selected types of vegetable seeds to be sown on the premises of the houses of school children so that they will naturally develop a bond with the plants and protect them by themselves. The plan is being implemented in the State with a cost of Rs. 42 crore and it will help in generating farming culture and respect for it in the minds of children.
Children are more curious about growing the vegetables and their self respect will also get a boost, he said. By developing horticulture in household units, better quality vegetables will be available to the family while reducing the family budget to a great extent. It will produce more results in a district like Idukki as it is basically an agrarian district and the children have a natural relation with farming. Only through developing a mindset for farming could more people be brought to the farming sector. The district has the natural topography for the growth of almost all vegetables and if it is grown on the premises of houses, a green environment will also be created, he said.
P.T. Thomas, MP, and Principal Agriculture Officer V.M.Sasikumar also attended the function.
