Kochi: Manarcadu Social Service Society (MASS), a collective of more than 5,000 organic farmers of Idukki and Kottayam districts, will launch Rebuild Kerala 2021, a unique sustainable programme to help farmers in Idukki, who lost their livelihood in August floods, to rebuild their farms and livelihood through organic farming.
The programme will be launched at Idinjamala in Idukki on November 26. More than hundred organic farmers from across the country will attend the function to express solidarity with the movement, said Bijumon Kurien, president of MASS in a press conference here on Saturday.
The three-year project will complete in 2021 and will reach out to more than one lakh families in 52 panchayats and two municipalities in the district. Initially, around 2 lakh saplings will be distributed freely for organic cultivation in the fertile hill tracts of Idukki. And in next phases, the project will be extended to farmers across the state.
"It is not only distribution of saplings, but the volunteers including persons from various sectors, will plant them in the farms of farmers. The saplings include herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, coffee and cocoa and the farmers will also be given material and advisory assistance in sustainable and organic-certified practices," he added.
According to him, the floods caused loss to the tune of Rs.400 crore for the agriculture sector in Idukki, including the damage due to change in soil structure and loss of micronutrients.
