Lack of coordination among the public-sector institutions has cast a cloud over the livelihood of around 500 workers under the Regional Agriculture Research Station (RARS) of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) at Ambalavayal in the district.
More than a crore of quality planting materials of pepper, coffee, coconut and various species of fruit plants have been produced by the workers, including 300 members of five Self Help Groups, anticipating a bulk order from the Agriculture Department and three-tier local administrative bodies for being supplied to farmers under various projects.
“Every year the district needs more than one crore of pepper saplings to be supplied to farmers through various projects. But the RARS so far got enquiries for only one lakh saplings,” P. Rajendran, Associate Director of Research, RARS said.
The SHG members produce the planting materials by utilising a revolving fund of RARS and one-third of the profit goes to the workers.
“We have stocked more than 20 lakh bags of quality pepper saplings to cater to the needs of the farmers in the district this season,” Dr. Rajendran said.
But for unknown reasons, some officials of the Agriculture Department and the three-tier administrative bodies preferred to procure planting materials from other sources.
Last year, the intervention of the district administration and people’s representatives had foiled an attempt by some officials to procure a huge quantity of inferior-quality pepper saplings from Idukki.
The Agriculture Production Commissioner had recently sanctioned a Rs.2.2-crore project to the station to attain self-sufficiency in pepper-sapling production and the sum should be utilised in the current fiscal, he said. Many a time the officials make enquiries for saplings in a gap of two or three days, Dr. Rajendran said.
If there was a confirmed order, the RARS could cater to the demand for pepper saplings in the entire State.
