How agri-allied collectives in Thiruvananthapuram are reaping success

Vilappil Madhuram, launched in July, consists of savouries, pickles, tapioca, jackfruit and banana chips and chammanthippodi, all made by residents of Vilappil panchayat, a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram. The products will be available for sale at the Onam market of the panchayat on August 17, the first day of the Malayalam month of Chingam, also observed as Farmers’ Day in Kerala.

The products have been made by five members, all of them homemakers, of Samrudhi Krishikkoottam in Vilappil, one among 2,175 Krishikkoottams registered in Thiruvananthapuram district. Krishikkoottam (farming collective), a state-wide initiative of the Kerala Government’s Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, is an extension of the Department’s ‘Njangalum Krishiyelekku’ (We, towards agriculture) campaign to promote farming in households.

Farming community

Krishikkoottam is a collective that has an interest in agriculture or farming-related activities and a collective should have at least five or six members. While Krishikkoottams can be formed by members of a family, majority of these collectives are run by homemakers.

Out of the total 24,000-plus Krishikkoottams registered in Kerala, Malappuram has the maximum number of collectives (over 4,000), followed by Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Thrissur districts.