Kochi: It is surprising but true. At a time when more and more agricultural lands are being converted into buildings, a resident in the industrial hub of Eloor is doing the reverse – leasing vacant plots in residential areas for vegetable cultivation.
And there are many takers for organic products cultivated by K.R. Ramakrishnan (62), a resident of Vadakkumbhagam in Eloor. People from far away can be seen queuing up before the farm land to buy snap melon, golden melon and salad cucumbers.
“I have been cultivating in leased lands for the past 26 years. Who said farming is a loss-making activity? If you devote time and follow the right practices, you can have a good harvest. We never had to go to markets to sell our produce. From morning, people start arriving at the fields (during harvest time) and directly buy the products,” said Ramakrishnan, who has got several awards including the best Farmer award from the Agriculture Department.
This season (starts in December), he invested nearly '2 lakh for farming activities, which also includes lease rent, and he has already got double the investment as returns for the three month’s effort. “This despite the fact some of the products get eaten or suffer decays as only organic fertilizers are used,” he said.
“We can’t buy vegetables from the market for they are brought from neighbouring states where the farmers liberally use pesticides and chemicals. Here organic products are available at a reasonable price. For instance one kg banana is priced at '45, snap melon and salad cucumber – '30 per kg,” said Mustapha Rahman, a customer.
However, Ramakrish-nan says the main hurdle is finding manpower for cultivation. “No one is interested in agriculture. I was forced to quit rice farming after facing a shortage of workers,” he rues.
