Part of State government project
The vegetable farms of Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML) has once again yielded a bountiful harvest.
Cultivated as part of State government’s ‘Onathinu Oru Muram Pachakkari’ project, the vegetables along with ‘onapudavas’ were distributed among 17 underprivileged families from Chavara panchayat.
Green chilly, string beans, okra, eggplant, yam, snake gourd, bitter gourd, cucumber, pumpkin, ash gourd and banana were among the crops that were harvested.
KMML managing director J.Chandrabose inaugurated the harvest and farmers from KMML, Balakrishnan and Prashanthan, were honoured on the occasion.
“We are happy to successfully implement this project launched by the State government to achieve self-sufficiency in food production. We are planning to expand farming to more areas,” he said.
KMML general manager V.Ajayakrishnan, agriculture nodal officer A.M.Siyad, PRO P.K.Shabir and trade union representatives were also present on the occasion.
KMML had started organic farming in connection with Subhiksha Keralam, the comprehensive food security programme of the State government.
During last year the company had brought out rice and turmeric under its own brand Talir.
Along with integrated paddy farming, tubers and vegetables were cultivated in 7.5 acres of fallow land.
Onam, a rice variety developed by Onattukara Regional Agricultural Research Station, was cultivated and hybrid marigolds were planted as trap crops following agroecological engineering method.
Aquaculture is also part of the project and at present the fish farm is providing a steady yield.
While a miyawaki orchard was planted recently, a herb garden is expected to come up shortly.
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