Central team visits Kuttanad

A Central government-appointed expert team on Saturday visited Kuttanad and other areas in Alappuzha to assess the crisis in the agricultural sector. The delegation held discussions with farmers and examined the scope for aquaculture as part of efforts to provide solutions to Kuttanad’s agrarian distress.

The team was led by National Fisheries Development Board chairperson Mohammed Koya. During its visit to R-Block and other kayal tracts in Kuttanad, the delegation interacted with farmers, farm workers and local residents.

Their first stop was the paddy polder at Ramankary, where fish farming has been taken up under the ‘One Paddy, One Fish’ scheme. The team inspected other fields and held direct interactions with cultivators.

Later, the members attended a farmers’ meeting at the M.S. Swaminathan Memorial Rice Research Centre at Mankombu. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Koya said that Kuttanad had favourable conditions for aquaculture. Drawing from the experience of the ‘One Paddy, One Fish’ initiative, it would be possible to introduce an integrated aquaculture model in Kuttanad, he said.