The Kerala Jaiva Karshaka Samithi, a 25-year-antique natural farmers organization in Kerala, has gained global popularity in innovative organic farming. The affiliation is one of the Organic Medal of Honour winners, instituted by using Xichong, a Chinese Municipality in association with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM) Asia in South Korea. “The award may be presented in Xichong on May 30. The prize cash is USD 5,000, more or less approximately 3.5 lakh Indian rupees apart from the gold medal.
The association might utilize this,” Ashok Kumar V, national secretary of the affiliation, instructed TNM. The area-century-antique organic farming association has around 15,000 members who are active farmers. The association’s democratic structure and operations, including its approach to fund collection, were one of the important reasons for its attracting the global medal.
“We have small and big farmers who domesticate greens, food, and coin crops in our association. While some cultivate on 2 cents, there are others with acres of farmland. We select farmers to become board individuals and stakeholders from among themselves every year,” Ashok said.
The affiliation elects board individuals, an executive, and a nation frame that includes presidents, treasurers, secretaries, and others from every district. Together, they discuss troubles touching on organic farming and arrive at decisions. They have bodies inside the Panchayat, Taluk, District, and State level. “While most other farming corporations paint as NGOs and ask for donations, we no longer do this. Our members pool in cash in case of any sports,” Ashok delivered.
Innovative measures
The association has led efforts to defend traditional rice varieties and veggies local to the nation. “We inspire farmers to domesticate conventional types of rice to defend them. We then promote those types so that human beings should purchase and cultivate them in other areas,” Ashok said. Traditional veggies that are encouraged to be grown include okra, eggplant, beans, inexperienced chilies, and many others.
The group also holds natural farming publications for those interested. The course is held over 20 Sundays on 20 unique farms, and both theories of organic farming and realistic classes are held. “There is no indoor elegance. Our instructors are the farmers who have been cultivating organic produce. Students will examine the whole thing properly, from the history of agriculture inside the nation to natural farming methods, growing prices, introduced vegetation, and the advertising of organic merchandise,” Ashoka said.
They are also taught how to cast off insecticides on produce and prepare dinner with natural produce to hold nutrients. Apart from the natural farming path, children and ladies are trained to maintain toxin-free houses on the village level. “It is not simply inside the fruit and greens that you have pollution and insecticides. Many other belongings you purchase, including painting, cleaning dealers, and others, comprise poisonous additives. The students are taught to identify and cast off these,” Ashok brought.
Apart from the comprehensive listing of guides, the affiliation also holds an organic farming competition in one-of-a-kind districts yearly. Members can talk about their discoveries or reviews of natural farming. In 2019, the festival was held in Vadakara in Kannur.
“Here we’ve got farmers, both individuals and those experts who come from outside the state, educating us on their modern methods of natural farming. This facilitates the trade of thoughts. For example, Swaminathan, a farmer from Tamil Nadu, attended the pageant over 12 months and supplied their revolutionary natural cotton plant,” he stated. Organic cotton isn’t always grown with seeds added from Monsanto or other farming organizations. They are 100 percent natural and may be used to make material from them.
Kerala government officials offer water and snacks to commuters and promote street protection.
A video circulating on Twitter confirmed pleasant guys in khaki stopping cars on an avenue in Kerala and offering water and chocolates over a bit of chat. While a few regarded them as officers running for the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) of Kerala, and some others guessed the initiative changed or the ones breaking their Ramzan fast, it wasn’t clear what the campaign changed into or what they chatted about
TG Gokul, Joint RTO, Enforcement unit of MVD, Malappuram, says it is part of reducing avenue injuries. “May is a month when there is constant traffic in the variety of accidents. Reasons can be summer vacations and unlicensed drivers trying to learn to use. The public notion is that it’s miles away to try this, which is appropriate. That had to alternate.”
He adds, “Also, a part of Ramzan has been falling in May for the remaining three years. By four at night, many motorists – and Malappuram being a predominantly Muslim vicinity – might be worn out after fasting all day. I have seen a vehicle motive force that goes to sleep out of fatigue. It may be scorching, too. So, in a rush to attain the mosque in the evening and then head home to break their rapid, they may come to be dashing. To deal with all this, we speak to commuters approximately using cautiously, at the same time as presenting them water and a small package of snacks.”
