Members of the Lawyers Farm, a lawyers’ collective in Alappuzha, have proved that farmer togs too suit them.
On Saturday afternoon, the lawyers-cum-farmers, who had undertaken paddy cultivation after feeling exhausted during the COVID-19-induced lockdown, demonstrated their mettle with a fairly good harvest.
“It was altogether a very good experience. Going back to nature was highly satisfying,”says, Arun Krishnan, a member of the collective following the harvest.
Earlier this year, nine young lawyers hailing from different parts of the district, all practising law in the Alappuzha district court, had joined hands to form the collective and took up paddy farming in three acres of land taken on lease at Thaduthuveli under the Kayippuram Krishi Bhavan in Muhamma grama panchayat. They had to overcome several hurdles, apart from their relative inexperience in agriculture, to make the farm project a success.
“Preparing the land for paddy farming was an arduous task. When the plants started to grow, there was a pest attack. The biggest of the challenges came in August when the entire field got submerged in heavy downpour. Some of the plants were destroyed, while others survived. Although it does not appear to be a bumper crop, the yield is still encouraging,” Mr. Arun says.
By doing paddy cultivation, the members of the Lawyers Farm revived a karapadam (upland rice field) that had been lying idle for the past 20 years. The group juggled between legal practice and farming for the past several months. While they appeared in the court in mornings, they managed agriculture in afternoons and holidays. Almost all the works related to paddy cultivation were done by them. The Kayippuram Krishi Bhavan provided them with 200 kg of seed free of cost.
The group says that they will return to paddy farming in the next additional crop (second crop) season. In between, they plan to do sesame cultivation.
The August floods had destroyed the additional crop in around 3,500 hectares in the district, causing heavy losses to paddy farmers. Crop in around 5,300 hectares survived the floods.
