Vadanappally (Thrissur): Thrithallur native Sameer Rauf, a Gulf returnee, planted green gram two months ago. Now the farm is ready for a good harvest. The green gram field can be a rare sight in Kerala. It is cultivated on a 10-acre coconut plantation on trial basis.
Sameer could not return to Gulf due to the lockdown restrictions. During this time, he happened to visit a farm in Coimbatore owned by Mayilswamy Goundar, a friend of Sameer’s father. There were multiple crops like ginger, corn and groundnut. He was inspired from this and decided to start farming.
Sameer arranged seeds from Coimbatore University. The major attraction of green gram is that when 8 kilograms of seed is cultivated on one-acre land, 800 kilograms can be harvested. Sameer grew the plant in a land owned by his father. His friend Chavakkad native Jamshi, a doctor, also joined the venture.
As green gram has high resistance to sun, the plants were irrigated twice or thrice in two months only. Sameer used only organic fertilizers like cow dung and lime. No pesticides were used. He strictly followed organic method of farming. Green gram can be harvested in a week.
Sameer gets full support from his mother and sisters. He has started faming on 30 acres of land with 8 acre land in Chowallurpadi, 5.5 acre in Perakam in Chavakkad, 10 acre at two locations in Chettuva and in Pokkancherry. Now Sameer is planning to start organic farming.
