THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: T. R. Santhosh Kumar, 47, an organic farmer of Polpully in Palakkad, has been harvesting njavara and champa rice varieties along with seasonal fruits and vegetables in his five-acre land under the brand name, TRS Natural Paddy Farm.
The people flock to him for his yield and he has not bothered to find a proper market to sell over 1,000 kilos of the rice varieties that he produces every month.
Kumar says he has never taken his two high-school going daughters to the hospital because they eat organic items. Kumar who is also the president of Polpully Co-operative Bank does not have any politics.
He only demands fair price for the farmers. "Quality organic products are not available these days. Malayalis spend their money on good products which has led to the mushrooming of organic stores", he says.
He criticised the VAIGA 2017 exhibition in Thrissur saying a few people involved in producing value-added products were happy whereas the main farmer does not enjoy the same status.
"There are central and state funds which are earmarked for organic farming, but these do not reach the organic farmers," said Kumar who has not taken any help from the local Krishi Bhavan.
He follows the Subhash Palekar mode of 'Zero Budget Natural Farming at Vidarbha in Maharashtra, a drought-affected area. Kumar does not buy fertilizers from outside his agricultural land as he uses cow dung and urine as manure.
