The Department of Agriculture, joining hands with the District Panchayat on Friday, launched a pilot project named “Kathirani” to convert fallow land into productive paddy fields in selected rural areas of Kozhikode district. Minister for Agriculture P. Prasad announced the official launch of the project at Koodalott field in Changaroth panchayat, where over 100 hectares of fallow land would be converted into productive fields in the first phase.
Officials said the project was designed with an aim to make use of 1,321 hectares of identified land where no farm activities had been in place for over a decade. In the 2021-22 financial year, ₹40 lakh would be invested for the project, they said. The project would be implemented with the support of trained technicians under the Haritha Karma Sena and Agro Service Centres. Agriculture equipment now available with these task forces would be used for preparing the fields. Local support of the members under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Kudumbashree units and youth clubs would be explored to complete the works.
District Panchayat officials said the project would be under implementation in the next five years with the intention to increase the total rice production. In the first year itself, the expected rice production from nearly 150 hectares of cultivated land could touch 600 tonnes, they said.
