Author: John Mary
Publication: Outlook
Date: September 12, 2005
URL: http://www.outlookindia.com/mad.asp?fodname=20050912&fname=Making&sid=1
Introduction: One man's intervention-and a
thousand vegetable orchards bloom in Alappuzha
Way back in 1986, T.S.Viswan, an agriculture
officer, sowed the seeds of a revolution at the Kanjikuzhy panchayat in Kerala's
coastal Alappuzha district. It was about cultivating organic vegetables -a
revolution of the garden variety, you could say, but it transformed many lives.
Till then, the means of livelihood in the region included coir-weaving, toddy-tapping,
fishing and plucking coconuts. But with the yield from coconut plantations
falling due to root wilt disease, the traditional coir industry in the doldrums
and mechanised fishing boats running the small fisherman out of business,
the people of Kanjikuzhy had to find other sources of income.
Viswan stepped in, organising his first farmers'
club in a ward of Kanjikuzhy. He demonstrated how root wilt sapped palms and
how the disease could be checked. The results were convincing. The average
yield-per-tree increased from 30 nuts to 50, quite commendable for Kerala
where palms are confined to small homestead holdings and therefore low on
productivity when compared to vast plantations.
Viswan also introduced the concept of inter-cropping.
He chose tropical vegetables to be grown between the palms. Members of the
club would fan out during the planting season and supply planting kits-including
seeds, manure and natural insecticides. They also surveyed the number of palms,
the diseased among them and the extent of area available for inter-cropping.
"People didn't have much to spare on factory-produced pesticides. So
we experimented, blending traditional knowledge and new technology,"
recalls Viswan.
Higher yield brought in more income. But not
everyone was convinced. Toddy-tapper T.K. Gopalan, like some others of his
ilk, was sceptical about diversifying to vegetable farming. But he fell in
line when his comrade and panchayat president P.P. Swatantryam backed Viswan
and pleaded with his people to give it a fair trial. Today, Gopalan grows
vegetables on his little-over-a-quarter-acre plot of land. He has also taken
land on lease.
The change was evident. Soon, word of the
success of micro-level inter-cropping and scientific methods of farming spread
to nearby wards. Within years, the entire panchayat was an oasis of organic
vegetables. Viswan had inspired the villagers much before the agriculture
department or other private plantations started thinking of switching to organic
farming. Says 55-year-old Vijayamma Karthikeyan: "Inter-cropping has
saved me and my two daughters, who had nothing to fall back on after the death
of their father. Our inherited property is now an acre of palms and vegetables
and we even have a biogas unit." Vijayamma has married off a daughter
with income from the land.
There are hundreds like her in the panchayat,
which has nearly 80 per cent of the 6,000 households engaged in spare-time
organic farming. But increased production brought in problems of marketing.
Viswan's solution was to set up outlets on either side of the national highway
at S.L. Puram in Alappuzha. Motorists were more than happy to stop by. That
solved the problem of glut and marketing.
And the economic fallout? Diversification
to vegetable farming has had two great benefits. For many families, this means
extra income while for others it remains the main activity. On an average,
the monthly income of a family has gone up from Rs 2,000 in the mono-crop
days to over Rs 5,000.
The Kerala government has recognised the success
of Viswan's experiment. It is now introducing organic farming to other panchayats
throughout the state. Viswan was selected for the national Karshaka Mitra
Award in 1997 is now a technical advisor to the coconut board. Retirement
from government service has given him time to travel across the state.
Contact Viswan at: Chintha Bhavan, Karikadu
PO, Thanneermukkom, Cherthala, Alappuzha, Kerala-688527.Tel: 0478-2582685/
94472 65757.
