Kottayam has set a successful model of paddy cultivation by expanding the area under plough in a phased manner, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar has said.
Inaugurating the cultivation of paddy on the 200-acre Muppayikkadu-Poozhikunnu polders here on Saturday by sowing seeds, the Minister attributed the success of the initiative to the collective efforts of farmers, government agencies, and the public. The acreage increase had helped improve yield efficiency from five tonnes to nine tonnes.
Another 120 acres
The polder network, once proposed as the venue of the now abandoned Kottayam Mobility Hub project, has now been entrusted to a collective of 35 farmers. Authorities are planning to restore an additional area of 120 acres in the adjacent Panchikkad grama panchayat.
To undertake farming, the farmers are being distributed ₹25,000 a hectare, besides free seeds. A three -km-long Manippuzha canal, which connects the polder network to the Kodoor river, has been restored with the support of the Irrigation Department and the Kottayam municipality.
Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA, presided. Municipal chairperson P.R. Sona was present. K. Anil Kumar, convener of the People’s Initiative for Meenachilar-Meentharayar-Kodooraar relinking, welcomed the gathering.
