Viswan stepped in, organising his first farmers’ club in a ward of Kanjikuzhy. He demonstrated how root wilt sapped palms and how the disease could be checked. The results were convincing. The average yield-per-tree increased from 30 nuts to 50, quite commendable for Kerala where palms are confined to small homestead holdings and therefore low on productivity when compared to vast plantations.
Viswan also introduced the concept of inter-cropping. He chose tropical vegetables to be grown between the palms. Members of the club would fan out during the planting season and supply planting kits—including seeds, manure and natural insecticides. They also surveyed the number of palms, the diseased among them and the extent of area available for inter-cropping. "People didn’t have much to spare on factory-produced pesticides. So we experimented, blending traditional knowledge and new technology," recalls Viswan.
Higher yield brought in more income. But not everyone was convinced. Toddy-tapper T.K. Gopalan, like some others of his ilk, was sceptical about diversifying to vegetable farming. But he fell in line when his comrade and panchayat president P.P. Swatantryam backed Viswan and pleaded with his people to give it a fair trial. Today, Gopalan grows vegetables on his little-over-a-quarter-acre plot of land. He has also taken land on lease.
The change was evident. Soon, word of the success of micro-level inter-cropping and scientific methods of farming spread to nearby wards. Within years, the entire panchayat was an oasis of organic vegetables. Viswan had inspired the villagers much before the agriculture department or other private plantations started thinking of switching to organic farming. Says 55-year-old Vijayamma Karthikeyan: "Inter-cropping has saved me and my two daughters, who had nothing to fall back on after the death of their father. Our inherited property is now an acre of palms and vegetables and we even have a biogas unit." Vijayamma has married off a daughter with income from the land.
There are hundreds like her in the panchayat, which has nearly 80 per cent of the 6,000 households engaged in spare-time organic farming. But increased production brought in problems of marketing. Viswan’s solution was to set up outlets on either side of the national highway at S.L. Puram in Alappuzha. Motorists were more than happy to stop by. That solved the problem of glut and marketing.
And the economic fallout? Diversification to vegetable farming has had two great benefits. For many families, this means extra income while for others it remains the main activity. On an average, the monthly income of a family has gone up from Rs 2,000 in the mono-crop days to over Rs 5,000.
The Kerala government has recognised the success of Viswan’s experiment. It is now introducing organic farming to other panchayats throughout the state. Viswan was selected for the national Karshaka Mitra Award in 1997 is now a technical advisor to the coconut board. Retirement from government service has given him time to travel across the state.
Contact Viswan at: Chintha Bhavan, Karikadu PO, Thanneermukkom, Cherthala, Alappuzha, Kerala—688527. Tel: 0478-2582685/ 94472 65757.
