Cultivating a different thought

Effort of a farmer who begged to differ from his ilk and chose rice instead of cash crops to tide over crop loss

At a time when farming community here is turning to cash crops to tide over the huge loss in paddy cultivation, Praseed Kumar, a progressive farmer from Thayyil at Sulthan Bathery, has chosen to bring back rice cultivation in a new and bold avatar.

The forty three-year-old’s bid to script a different story began after he got a handful of rice seeds from a friend in Gujarat. ‘Krishna Kamod,’ the Basmati rice variety he got, is known for its taste, colour and aroma. Entinced by its violet-coloured shaff, he first cultivated the rare variety on one cent of land. Gradually, in a period of seven years, he expanded his cultivation to one hectare and last year, harvested around 2,500 kg of the variety. And instead of selling it in the open market, he sold the crop as seeds to farmers at ₹ 200 a kg.

“When farmers procure the rare rice variety for seed purpose, some others purchase it to give it as gift, keep it in their pooja rooms, and offer it to various temples, Mr. Praseed says.

“I have spend ₹85,000 for the cultivation and I got ₹5 lakh from it,” says Mr. Praseed. He had also got a financial assistance of ₹18,000 from Agriculture Department as incentive.

“The rice variety seems quite suitable for the State and its pest-and-drought resistance capacity are its plus points,” says M.K. Mariyumma, Agricultural Officer, Krishi Bhavan, Nenmeni. Many farmers, under the Krishi Bhavan, have come forward to cultivate the crop, she adds. Praseeth’s farm has been selected as a demonstration plot last season to promote the rice variety.

The farmer has also dabbled in the cultivation of a spectra of rice varieties. His claim to agricultural fame includes 12 varieties of rice including Mahamaya, a hybrid rice variety with an average yield of 4.3 tonnes an acre; Ramli, a traditional rice variety of Punjab; Navara and Rakthashali, two varieties with medicinal properties; Black Jasmine, a violet-colour medicinal rice variety of Assam; two types of Basmati rice of Jammu Kashmir; and Valichoori as well as Adukkan, two indigenous paddy varieties; which he cultivated this year.

Mr. Praseed says he was planning to propagate the varieties in the coming years on rented land.