5^TH KERALA BALAKRISHI SHASTRA CONGRESS AND AGRICULTURAL FESTIVAL

Minister for Agriculture K.P. Mohanan scribbled furiously on a piece of paper, trying to keep up with the pace at which students – as young as six years – got on stage to question and suggest improvements to farm policies.The Minister appreciated the nature of questions, for they were pertinent and specific – testimony to how invaluable farm activities in schools are proving to be.The interaction was part of the fifth Kerala Bala Krishi Shastra Congress and Agricultural Festival being organised by the government and the Agri Friends Krishi Samskarika Vedi at the Kanakakunnu Palace here on Thursday. The Congress would conclude on January 5.

In his inaugural address, Mr. Mohanan said the growing presence of schools in such events was a sign that agricultural literacy and awareness among children were on the rise.The theme for this year’s congress explores how ‘local-level cultivation can ensure food safety and improve hygiene’.General queries on improving the research capacity of school-level farming projects were posed along with more specific suggestions regarding the scope for involving local institutions to convert abandoned quarries to fish farms.S. Amrutha of VVHSS Thamarakulam in Alappuzha was among the students who expressed their ambition to become an agriculture scientist. She said she experimented with natural substances to make an emulsion from papaya fruit.“It made for a very effective natural pesticide. There are many traditional techniques of this sort but having a forum where the science behind them can be explained will help,” she told the Minister.Since building on research-based activities was a popular demand,

Mr. Mohanan said he would charge Director of Extension of the Kerala Agricultural University P.V. Balachandran to broaden the scope of farm clubs in schools and whether seminars and workshops could be a regular feature.The Minister said he favoured giving grace marks to students who were part of school farm clubs or the Green Cadet Corps. This was a proposal submitted to the Education Department last year, he said adding that he would pursue the matter again.Weaving traditional knowledge and hi-tech agricultural methods into the curriculum was another matter under consideration.He also addressed the students’ concerns regarding the dearth of marketing venues. Considering the successful yield year after year in most schools, often the problem was selling the excess produce, particularly in non-residential schools.The ‘Haritha Village’ project was being developed in four panchayats, the Minister said.Apart from this ambitious project, taluk level platforms for sale would also be developed.

Prof. John Kurakar