Okkal farm taking steps to achieve carbon neutrality

The government seed farm at Okkal, Perumbavoor, is taking big strides towards the goal of achieving carbon neutrality, while also working to transform itself into an educational tourism destination.

The government seed farm at Okkal, Perumbavoor, is taking big strides towards the goal of achieving carbon neutrality, while also working to transform itself into an educational tourism destination.

The Okkal farm is among the more than a dozen government-owned farms in the State that are working to achieve carbon neutrality following positive results delivered by the Aluva Thuruthu farm, which was declared carbon neutral in December last year.

One of the pressing targets before the Okkal farm is to transform itself into a destination for students. The Ernakulam district panchayat has provided ₹40 lakh for the execution of work at the farm. Sources said work had begun in right earnest to achieve the goal even as students visit the farm as part of the programme to familiarise themselves with the operations of farms across the State.

Sources said one of the steps had been to keep tilling to the minimum. Tilling has a significant influence on the nature of the soil and emission of greenhouse gases. The farm has avoided total tillage for the vegetable season that has begun. Pumpkins and cucumbers have been planted now, tilling only the beds for planting.

The farm has also been successful in its experiment of integrating duck rearing with rice farming. The farm has 41 local varieties of ducks, which are allowed to feed in the rice fields, helping clear the area of weeds. Improvised cages have also been developed. These cages are kept close to the paddy fields, and ducks are released into the fields. The experiment has resulted in ducks working on the soil to improve aeration. Egg yield too had improved, sources added.

The farm is also using a shredder to convert leaves and fronds available at the farm site into recycled organic inputs for farming. The farm is also using rice husk charcoal from paddy milling units in its neighbourhood as rooting material for bush pepper and anthurium. The rooting medium does not use soil, and the experiment has been successful. As part of its activities, 25 colonies of stingless bees have been introduced, and another 25 colonies will be introduced soon.

The more-than-a-century-old Aluva Thuruth farm is the first carbon-neutral farm in the country. The activities to achieve its status were supervised by the Kerala Agricultural University’s College of Climate Change and Environmental Science. The Aluva farm emits 43 tonnes of carbon and 213 tonnes of carbon sequestration, giving the farm carbon credits that can be sold in the future.