Britisha Alexander is refreshingly down to earth – literally and figuratively. This homemaker who is in her early thirties and who is a mother of three has turned her “hobby” of growing things into a full-fledged, commercial farm. She runs a prosperous organic farm on the outskirts of Chirayinkil, in Thiruvananthapuram district, where she grows a variety of vegetables and fruits, besides rearing livestock on a four-and-a-half acre riverside plot, adjacent to her house. For her efforts in propagating mixed farming, Britisha was recently conferred with Yuvakarshaka Vanitha (Best Young Female Farmer) award for 2008-09, by the Department of Agriculture, Government of Kerala.
Keen on farming
“I have always been interested in agriculture, having studied the subject for my Vocational Higher Secondary Education certificate. When the opportunity arose I wanted to put all that I had learnt in school into practice. My husband, Joseph, an engineer who works in the Gulf, is keen on agriculture too. We decided that it didn't make sense to leave arable land lying fallow. I see farming as a hobby rather than as a profession. My greatest pleasure is seeing something grow/thrive under my watch. That my hobby has turned out to be profitable is a bonus,” says soft-spoken Britisha, a graduate in chemistry from Fatima College, Kollam, who seems to be always busy as a bee.
“I have to be everywhere at once,” she explains as she sprinkles feed into a trough for assorted poultry. Hungry turkeys and a bossy rooster compete with each other for her attention. Immediately afterwards, she is on her way to check on a new born calf and then to the tapioca field where farmhands are busy tilling the land, after harvesting the crop. On the way back she stops at a betel grove to check on the leaves. “They are ready to be harvested tomorrow or the day after at the latest,” she mutters to herself, while she carefully examines a vine. “Harvesting betel leaf is a whole lot of work and requires specialised labour. My labourer comes all the way from Kadakkal to pluck the leaves,” she pauses to say.
“Farming requires one's constant attention, more so when it's an organic farm, where we use only bio-fertilizers. We have to be extra vigilant about pests. Every leaf on every plant needs to be physically checked for rot – on a daily basis. Farming is a 24x7, 365 days-a-year kind of job. What with raising kids and running the farm, I haven't had a vacation in years, let alone a moment to myself! I constantly miss out on family functions because it's simply not practical to stay away from the farm for too long. Not that I'm complaining. I love it too much,” she says with a smile.
Variety produce
Britisha started her farm in 2000 by cultivating different varieties of bananas. Now, in addition to bananas, she grows tapioca, colocasia, elephant yam, arecanut, coconut, beans, snake gourd, ginger, pepper, betel leaves, and bamboo, to name a few. Surprisingly, there's not a rubber tree in sight! She believes in practising mixed farming and as such rears Holstein-Friesian cows, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, ducks, guinea fowl, and even pearl spot (karimeen). “I enjoy experimenting with new varieties/breeds of plants. My way of farming is by trial and error. For example, I first tried rearing karimeen in the river [Vamanapuram river]. But all the fish escaped from the net when the river flooded! Lesson learnt. I had a pond built,” she says, with a laugh.
Then does one need to have deep pockets for farming? “Initially you need to, especially if you want to get the land ready for cultivation. However, these days there are a lot of government schemes available for small-time farmers by way of loans, seed banks, know-how, and even free fertilizer costing up to Rs. 50, 000! It also helps that I don't have to bother finding a market for the produce because it gets sold out as soon as each crop is harvested,” she says.
Much like it is everywhere in Kerala, getting access to labour and, more importantly, affording the rising cost of labour, she says, is one of her biggest challenges. “Thankfully, I'm able to operate with just three full-time labourers. Of course, my kids – Jenitha, Naina, and even little Jayesh – and the rest of my family pitch in to help, especially during harvest days,” she says. “Like every other job, farming has its difficulties. You just have to dig in and work as hard as you can.”
Propagating farming
I'm delighted that I won the Yuvakarshaka Vanitha award because now I get invitations by the dozen to talk at schools and educate students on the wonders of farming. I hope my story inspires other people – children and women – to take up farming.
