Fears of a COVID-19 lockdown-triggered food shortage in the months ahead is prompting Kerala to go back to its “roots” to guarantee food security.
Responding to a request by the State Agriculture Department, the Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (ICAR-CTCRI) on Monday submitted a concept note to the Planning Board on developing a State-level plan for popularising tapioca and other tuber crops.
The one-year-long programme, which banks on the enduring reputation of tubers as ‘food security crops’, aims to boost homestead-level farming of cassava (tapioca), greater yam, lesser yam, elephant foot yam, sweet potato, taro and Chinese potato.
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The CTCRI is collaborating with the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK), and State Agriculture Department farms for the ‘tuber campaign’.
Under it, 1.38 crore numbers of planting material will be distributed over the next one year through local self government institutions. The concept note prepared by Dr. G. Byju and Dr. K. Sunil Kumar, principal scientists with the Crop Production division of CTCRI, outlines a cultivation plan for five cents of land, with one cent each dedicated to a tuber variety.
Thirty to 40% of the planting materials are expected to be distributed over the next two months.
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Food shortage
Disruption of supply chains and constraints on farming due to the coronavirus pandemic have triggered fears of a food shortage.
Last week, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar had met CTCRI scientists for exploring the possibility of promoting tuber crops.