Ernakulam is gearing up for Onam with a major foray by various agencies into vegetable farming.
While women’s joint liability groups under the Kudumbashree Mission have brought more than 3,000 acres under various crops, the Department of Agriculture has drawn up plans to distribute 4.5 lakh vegetable saplings among schoolchildren as well as farmers engaged in homestead farming.
The crops under women’s JLGs in the district include 417 acres of paddy, 1,114 acres of banana, 814 acres of tubers, 566 acres of vegetables, and 182 acres of other crops.
The programme of distribution of vegetable saplings in the district was inaugurated by Eldho Abraham, MLA, at Kalloorkkad Krishi Bhavan recently.
The Palliyakkal Service Cooperative Bank, which has created a quiet revolution in collective farming in the district, has brought 200 hectares under pokkali rice cultivation ahead of Onam. M.P. Vijayan, secretary of the bank, said with the rains setting in, the season ahead looked good. More than 35 acres are under vegetable cultivation, which includes banana. While more than a hundred farmers are involved in vegetable cultivation, around 180 farmers are involved in pokkali farming, he said.
Meanwhile, Farmer Markets (markets run directly by farmers’ groups) under the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam at Puthenvelikkara, Kadungalloor, Nedumbassery, and Vazhakkulam expect to see a revival of fortunes this season after they suffered massive losses in the floods last year. Seven Farmer Markets had lost large stocks of vegetables as well as office equipment, including computers, in the floods.
Farmer Markets had a business turnover of ₹44.6 crore during 2017-18. But it came down to ₹31 crore during 2018-19. However, this year farmers expect the turnover to go up substantially and have brought 1,800 hectares under vegetable cultivation, 2,100 hectares under banana, and 600 hectares under pineapple cultivation.
