From a small piece of land adjoining the confluence of the Pampa and the Manimala rivers, the rolling green carpet of sugar cane extends to a vast area of five acres. Standing on one end of this field, Raghunathan Nair, a 66-year-old farmer, waves his hand in an arc. “This whole region once used to be a vast sugar cane field. But it’s all gone now. Over the years, canes gave way to short-term crops such as tapioca and plantain,” he says.
After a gap of over three decades, the sweet scent of newly cut sugar cane has made a comeback to the verdant landscape of upper Kuttanad, thanks to a year of hard work and perseverance by the Pampa Karimbu Karshaka Samiti (sugar cane farmers’ association). The success of an experimental farming initiative by the collective on a five-acre field in Kadapra has inspired more farmers to join the cause.
“For generations, sugar cane formed the bittersweet lifeblood of the local economy here. Our attempt is to reclaim this agricultural heritage,” adds Mr. Nair, secretary of the collective. The collective also received support from the Pathanamthitta district panchayat. As a first step, a high-yielding variety named ‘Madhurima’ was provided to the collective from the Agriculture department’s Sugarcane Seed Farm at Pandalam.
