Ahead of the Onam season, the Kudumbasree Mission has undertaken extensive cultivation of vegetables, rice, and banana in various districts. According to Kudumbasree data, vegetable, rice, and banana cultivation will be undertaken in a total of 1,834 hectares in 14 blocks of Ernakulam district. Nearly 5,000 Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) are involved in the programme.
There are nearly 7,000 JLGs registered under the Kudumbasree Mission in the district, of which 4,951 groups will engage in farming ahead of the Onam season. Kudumbasree sources said banana (nendran) has been given considerable importance, given the demand for both the raw and ripe varieties ahead of the festival season.
A total of 846 hectares will be under banana cultivation for the season. The targeted area for rice cultivation is 385 hectares in the district with an expected production of 11.55 lakh kgs.
Leafy vegetables such as amaranthus, tubers, yams and other vegetables such as cowpea, ladies’ fingers, brinjal, bittergourd and ridgegourd will come in for extensive cultivation. Nine hectares will come under ladies’ finger cultivation and 30 hectares under cowpea. There will also be five hectares under amaranthus and other leafy vegetables for the season. Bittergourd will be cultivated in 11 hectares and 30 hectares will come under other gourds.
Poultry enterprise
Meanwhile, 120 broiler chicken farms have started functioning in the district under the Kudumbasree Mission.
The district has the largest number of poultry units. There are 515 poultry farms functioning under the Mission in the State.
The poultry initiative was launched in the background of serious fluctuations in the price of poultry in the State. It was launched in collaboration with Kerala State Poultry Development Corporation, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University as well as the Animal Husbandry Department. The aim of the programme is to make safe and competitively priced poultry available in the State.