CMFRI works towards ensuring food security

The model initiative includes farming of tubers and pulses along with vegetables

V.S. Sunil Kumar, Minister for Agriculture, Government of Kerala has launched the “New Farming Challenge” by planting ginger saplings.

The challenge has been started by the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi, Kerala in association with the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ernakulam among the Government Organizations towards food security.

The model initiative includes farming of tubers and pulses along with vegetables in an area of around 3-acre barren land in its premises of residential complex in Kochi city.

The Minister also urged the KVK, Ernakulam for designing and demonstrating a working model of the mini rice mill required for each paddy field. He stressed that the medium paddy farmers in Kerala have been facing the major crisis of lack of such mini rice mills.

Kumar also suggested the KVK to take-up the task on experimental basis with the support of the Farmers’ Producers’ Organizations (FPOs) associated with it.

The Minister also accentuated on intensifying the efforts to take-up the farming as a livelihood for facing the post COVID-19 period. He urged the other Government Institutions to follow the ICAR-CMFRI’s model that would help in popularizing the farming in a better way.