Farm tourism to get a leg-up in Kerala via organic croplands’ linkage
Agriculture Minister declares government’s intention to draw up various schemes to
milk farm tourism’s potential for all its worth through a well-developed marketing blitz
Published: 23rd July 2019 06:49 AM | Last Updated: 23rd July 2019 06:49 AM | A+A A-
Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar on his way to inaugurate the centenary celebrations of State Seed Farm at Aluva. Aluva MLA Anwar Sadath is also seen | Arun Angela
KOCHI: Government is planning to market farm tourism in the state in a big way by linking various organic farms across the state. Under the project, farms are to be turned into farming training centres to preserve Kerala’s traditional rice varieties.
Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar announced this after inaugurating the State Seed Farm’s centenary celebrations in Aluva on Monday.“There are many agro farms under the Agriculture Department which have been around for over 100 years. Karimbam farm in Kannur, which hosted Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, even figured in the itinerary during the current Prime Minister’s visit to Kozhikode. This shows farm tourism’s potential across the state,” said Sunil Kumar.
“Although these farms are our assets, most of them have been in a state of ruin for long. But farms like Aluva and Neriamangalam have witnessed tremendous transformation due to the efforts of officials. Government is planning various schemes to cash in on farm tourism potential by linking up these farms,” the minister said.
He vowed improved facilities for the State Seed Farm. “We will soon allocate funds for procuring a speedboat and floating jetties to ensure smooth connectivity to the farm. The demand for a new bridge will also be met through funding from Kerala Land Development Corporation (KLDC),” he said.
According to Sunil Kumar, Kerala’s traditional rice varieties should be revived and branded for the future. “Similar to Aluva seed farm’s efforts to preserve Rakthashali rice, action plan is needed for organic rice varieties,” he said.
The farms will be transformed into ‘agro-ecological zones’ . “Under these zones, we will form agro-ecological units to create rapid changes in the state’s farm sector,” the minister said.
Aluva MLA Anvar Sadath inaugurated the centenary entry point to the farm built by Ernakulam district panchayat while the minister unveiled the centenary celebrations logo. Dolly Kuriakose, district panchayat president, chaired the meeting. Abdul Muthalib, district panchayat vice-president, Bindu Sebastian, block panchayat president, and others spoke.
