Meet Sreevidya M and Saifulla P, winners of best young farmers instituted by Kerala Government

MAKING A GREENHOUSE

Kolathur village of Kasaragod district has a star in Sreevidya M. Six years in the past nobody would have thought that she would convey residence a State award by farming on an undulating and rocky terrain.

On 4 acres, she grows ardour fruit, papaya, banana, paddy, greens, coconut and tubers, moreover managing a poultry enterprise and an aquaponics farm. “It has been backbreaking. But I am immensely satisfied when I look back at what I have done,” says Sreevidya over the cellphone.

A commerce graduate, Sreevidya acquired all for farming as a result of of her dad and mom. “My 72-year-old father, AK Narayanan Nair, continues to inspire me. I can never beat him when it comes to working on the field!” says the 35-year-old, employed with a journey and tour firm for the final 12 years.

It was in 2014-15 that she determined to take up farming with the assist of her husband, Radhakrishnan M. By then she had already purchased 50 cents of paddy discipline. “After marriage I moved to Dubai with my husband. I bought the field with my first salary. That was a gratifying moment since my father had to sell off his field for my wedding,” she recollects.

Setbacks had been many, like the massive losses she suffered when she reared cows and goats. But, though her husband had to return to Dubai after a degree, she determined to hold on. “Converting the hilly terrain into arable land was an uphill task. We had to blast the rocks in some parts. The barren land was filled with boulders and stones. Water scarcity was another challenge,” she says.

A bumper yield of Red Lady papaya selection and ardour fruit turned issues in her favour. “People called me crazy when I grew passion fruit. But even when the pandal in front of my home crashed in heavy rain I wasn’t dissuaded. I built a permanent one, much to the surprise of people in the neighbourhood,” she laughs.

She grows rubber and used to make sheets as effectively. “We planted pineapple in between the trees but couldn’t harvest any because monkeys ate all of it,” she says.

Aquaponics was a profitable gamble and she cultivated all types of vegetation, together with strawberry. In addition to the pond on one cent, she has biofloc (low-cost fish farming that includes recycling of vitamins and changing poisonous supplies into feed) and mini aquaponics farms. In addition, she grows over 30 varieties of fruits and cultivation of upland paddy and fodder grass.

Chemical fertilisers are a strict no-no and she makes use of drip irrigation methodology. “I mostly supervise everything on my own even though I have a job. I need hands at the time of planting crops and taking the yield. Harvesting paddy is by and large a family affair, more like a festival,” she says.

The newest additions to her farm are azolla cultivation and bee-keeping. “After a day’s hard work, the most relaxing thing is sitting by the aquaponics farm,” she indicators off.

ROOTING FOR TECHNOLOGY

Saifulla P is assured of a authorities job as his identify figures within the rank listing of the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC). But he asserts that he can’t assume of a life with out farming.

The 30-year-old from Kuruva in Malappuram district took to farming as a college boy, impressed by his grandfather and father. In addition to cultivating on one-and-a-half acres close to his residence the place he grows rubber, arecanut and coconut, he does farming on 22 acres of leased land in three totally different places. While bananas and greens kind the foremost share of the leased land, he grows paddy and medicinal vegetation on the different two places.

“It was 10 years ago that I developed an interest in medicinal plants, especially after I realised that Ayurveda had become a way of life for several people. Since there were only few people cultivating these plants I knew that there was a market for them,” he says. Among the vegetation in his five-acre medicinal plant farm are koduveli (Indian leadwort), neelayamari (Indian Indigo), adalodakam (Malabar nut), turmeric, ginger, chengazhineerkizhangu (Indian crocus), basil, arrowroot and kurunthotti (Bala).

He has entered into an settlement to supply uncooked supplies to Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala. “They require 35,000 kilogram of basil every year. I have to ensure periodic supply of the plant. I have already given 1,000 kilograms. I have nearly two kilogram of seeds with me to grow it,” he explains. He has additionally provided koduveli value ₹5 lakh, which got here to round 4 tonnes, and kurunthotti value ₹one lakh. Saifulla provides that neelayamari, an ingredient in making hair oil, earns round ₹100 per kilogram.

The banana varieties from his farm is bought by distributors who provide to grocery store chains. He cultivates paddy on 4 acres and as soon as it’s harvested, he grows totally different varieties of watermelon. He has additionally taken up musk melon cultivation on a small patch.

Working as a marketing consultant with a fertiliser firm, he advises farmers to be cautious of deceptive details about farming, particularly these uploaded on social media. A postgraduate in Biostatistics and an MPhil holder in Bioinformatics, Saifulla roots for precision farming, which is predicated on info and technology-based cultivation. “Technology is used to increase productivity. I use scientifically-developed plant nutrients for pests and disease management. I focus on increasing the yield by providing the right inputs for the plants,” he explains. He has additionally developed an natural pesticide with the help of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna-Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) Agri Business Incubator, a scheme of the Central Government.