The Kerala government has taken another step forward in its project to achieve net carbon emission status for 14 farms in the State with the completion of assessment of organic carbon stock in soil at the farm at Okkal, near Perumbavoor. The process was completed by the Centre for Water Resource Development Management, Kozhikode, and mapped by the Soil Survey department, said an official at the Okkal farm.
The official said that this is the first step towards achieving carbon neutrality, and other procedures will follow as scheduled. Getting carbon neutrality status for 14 farms is part of an overall State target of achieving carbon neutrality. Two farms in Ernakulam district and one farm in each of the districts, except Wayanad, will achieve the status through due process.
Aluva Organic Seed Farm was declared the first State-owned farm in the country to achieve carbon neutrality in December 2022. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare had declared that 14 farms would follow the suit. The process for achieving carbon neutrality was overseen by the College of Climate Change and Environmental Science, Kerala Agricultural University.
The Okkal farm was established in 1979 on 32 acres along MC Road, near Perumbavoor. Out of the total area, 27 acres are dedicated to paddy cultivation. Coconut seedling production, pepper cutting, vegetable seeds, and seedlings for ornamental plants are also produced in the farm. The Aluva farm, which was established as a farmer’s field study and training center in 1919, has a history of over a century. It covers 13 acres and was declared an organic seed farm in 2012.
The formalities for beginning an assessment of the carbon emissions status of the 234-acre government farm at Neriamangalam is also under way. An official at the farm said that initially nine acres had been identified for beginning the works. The Neriamangalam facility is an integrated farming centre with crops like coconut, areca, pepper, nutmegs, mango, exotic fruits and tuber crops and vegetable cultivation. It also produces vegetable seeds.
Meanwhile, the three-day farm festival at the Okkal farm has been extended by another day considering the heavy rush of visitors, especially school students, to witness the farming cycles and to get a firsthand experience of farming activities, said Phlip Kanatt, farm superintendent. The farm festival will be on from 9.30 a. m. to 5 p. m. on September 1 (Sunday).