Youth trigger paddy revolution in Malappuram

Thrissur: A group of youngsters has initiated a silent paddy revolution in the barren paddy fields of Chiyyanoor village at Alakode panchayat in Malappuram. They began  paddy cultivation two years ago to prevent the land mafia from reclaiming the paddy fields in the village and have produced a brand of organic rice which is in high demand in  the state and outside. They produce the  ‘Modern organic rice’ with high fibre content which is a much-sought-after brand in Malappuram district.  The collective has plans to start organic vegetable farming, floriculture and a cattle farm.

It all began in 2014 when a private individual started erecting concrete posts  in the paddy field at Chiyyanoor  to illegally fill a part of the unused area. “With the Gulf boom, the residents of Chiyyanoor  had lost interest in paddy cultivation. The paddy fields spread across 200 acres surrounding the village were being reclaimed after 2000. We prevented the realtors from filling up the fields by taking up the matter with the village officers and decided to re-start paddy cultivation,”  said Abdul Majeed, a B.Tech engineer and a member of the group.

The others in  the group included   T.P Madhusudhanan ,  who is senior civil police officer at Ponnani police station, KSRTC driver  T.P. Krishnan,  a mobile shop owner K.V. Rasheed,  T.P. Shibin,  P. Ashraf  and   K.V. Raoof.  To raise funds for the project, each member  contributed Rs 5,000 at the beginning. They also got assistance from  K.V. Manoj  residing in the locality,  and were  associated with Kerala Agriculture University in the mechanization of  farming.   Seeds are sown in the soil kept on tarpaulin sheets and  saplings are planted  using machine.

Organic varieties of  paddy  named ‘Jothi,’  ‘Chittani’ and ‘Uma’ are grown.  The paddy field is irrigated by regulating water in the small channels spread across the field to which water flows from the adjacent panchayat pond. Soon after the saplings start growing, neem cakes (vepennapinnakku) and later Jeevamrutham, a mix of cow dung, cow urine, coconut water and  big gram powder along with other ingredients are used as the second manure.  Jeevamrutham is diluted using water for use in the field.

In the final phase, an organic pesticide is made by mixing sardine and jaggery.  Another pesticide is made by using garlic and chilly paste along with water boiled with tobacco (pukalakashayam).  By December end, the harvesting is done using a harvester machine. “Compared to the paddy cultivation using harmful pesticides and chemical fertilisers, the yield is a bit less. But the organic paddy and rice are in high  demand. Last year, we produced nearly 20 tonnes of paddy and marketing is done through social media. We had buyers even from Delhi last time,” group member Rasheed, said.

Unprocessed rice is sold for Rs 26 per kg and the  branded  ‘Modern Karshaka Sangam Jaiva Ari’ costs Rs  65 per kg.  The families of each group member get rice for the whole year and the net profit last year was Rs 2 lakh.  The owners of the paddy field are given Rs 3,000 as lease for an acre. The group is planning to buy a  tractor which could be leased out as well. They say that in the last two years, nearly 50 percent of the expense was on tractor.

“Still there are paddy fields in Chiyyanoor that are  left barren and they could  be filled up by realtors. We hope that Agriculture Minister V. S. Sunil Kumar, who has taken keen interest in expanding the cultivable paddy lands in the state, will help us increase  the organic paddy farming in our village,”  Raoof, another group member said. The working pattern All the 24 youngsters of the collective  work in the paddy field  early in the morning every day and full day on Sundays  during the four-month-long period when  paddy is cultivated. The group has won an award instituted  by an organisation called ‘Karma’ under the aegis of ‘Ponnani Taluk Nalla Bakshana Prasthana’ which advocates good eating habits.