THIRUVANANThAPURAM: With safe food being the primary concern of every citizen, Palayam ward is setting an example by deciding to launch organic farming in the heart of the city.
The plan is to use 45 cents of land inside Palayam market owned by Trida (Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority) for the purpose. Palayam ward councillor Palayam Rajan said that the initiative would be launched in the first week of September. Around 13 Kudumbashree workers have been roped in to execute the project.
“NGO, Kudumbashree workers and residents association would be part of the initiative. The area identified for the project is lying unused and garbage is being dumped again. We cleaned up the area as part of the ‘My City Beautiful City’ and this is one way to keep the area clean. We brought fertile soil from the landfill to the area and used it for organic farming,” said Mr Rajan.
He said that pesticide-free vegetables were the need of the hour and Kudumbashree workers were ready to take up the responsibility.
“We would be holding discussions with Trida and initiate farming by next week. We have dug a well inside the market to ensure water supply for farming. Residents association are very interested in the initiative. Our aim would be to make farming more sustainable to ensure availability of pesticide-free vegetables,” said Mr Rajan.
He said that if the project succeeded, people would become motivated to use vacant lands for farming purposes.
