POKKALI FARMING IN FALLOW LAND

POKKALI FARMING

 IN FALLOW LAND

The Department of Agriculture has launched a drive to bring more fallow fields in Ernakulam district under pokkali cutlviation this season. While the sowing is yet to take off for lack of sufficient rain, farmers and Agriculture Department officials are confident that this season will see at least 20 to 30 per cent more of pokkali fields under cultivation.Their optimism has been demonstrated by farmers in Pallippuram, in Vypeen Block, where a collective of fields called Puthenpadam has been brought under cultivation. Sowing was officially inaugurated last week.It is the tireless efforts of the department officials that has seen about 40 hectares of fallow land being brought under cultivation this season, said a senior official. The Puthenpadam padashekharam comprises a total of 250 hectares and fall within the Kuzhippilly and Pallippuram panchayats. Pokkali fields on the western side of Vypeen are well below the mean sea level and the fields are flooded throughout the year. Preparation of the fields take a long time and is strenuous.

An official of the department said that women workers were engaged this season in several farm collectives under the national employment guarantee scheme. However, lack of workers during the harvest season continues to hamper pokkali cultivation throughout the State.Chellanam panchayat, on the southern tip of Ernakulam district, will see 30 acres of fallow fields coming under cultivation this season. There were a total of 174 hectares under pokkali cultivation last season. One of the significant developments this season has been that farmers have reported adequate availability of seeds.While most of the farmers have resorted to using the Kerala Agricultural University-developed VTL-6 variety, some farmers in Chellanam and other panchayats still stick to the traditional Chettivirippu.Kumbalanghi panchayat too is set to see more area being brought under pokkali rice this season. Farmers in the panchayat had brought 250 acres under cultivation last season.Njarakkal panchayat will also see substantial increase in pokkali cultivation. It is expected that about 25 acres will be brought under cultivation this season from the previous season's level of 10 acres.

Prof. John Kurakar