Paddy farm to be revived after dry spell

Students and teachers of a school in Kasaragod take the initiative to revive farming in barren land

Students and teachers of C. Krishnan Nair Smaraka Government Higher Secondary School at Pilicode join hands to plant paddy seedlings in a land left barren for 12 years.

Paddy farming has been revived in Mangadavathu “vayal” at Pilicode, which lay barren for 12 years, thanks to the efforts taken by a group of students and teachers of Sri Krishnan Nair Smaraka Government Higher Secondary School.

NSS volunteers and ‘Bhoomitra Sena’ attached to the school joined the local Krishi Bhavan’s innovative project and prepared the land for promoting paddy cultivation.

Traditional practices

The project aims to foster farm practices, research work and instil public awareness on reviving traditional farm practices,

V.P. Janaki, Neeleshwaram block panchayat president said, inaugurating the ‘Naati Mahotsavam’ in the paddy fields at Pilicode, the southern tip of the district.

The organisers this time opted to plant the paddy seedlings — Ezhom 2, Ezhom 3, J.O. 583 — developed by the Pilicode Regional Agricultural Research station. The J.O. 583 seed variety is being used in Pilicode panchayat for the first time.

The seedlings have inherent capacity to resist threats posed by water accumulation and saline water intrusion. The land has been offered by Rajan Thayabath residing at nearby Chandera locality for the farm practices.

As the schoolchildren turned the programme into a virtual festival, tiny tots were given a helping hand by the local Kudumbasree unit members.

Those who took part in the programme included Pilicode grama panchayat president T.V. Sreedharan, K. Kunhiraman, former MLA, other local body members, school Headmaster T.V.Raghavan and Agriculture Office Assistant P. Nishant.