Pokkali rice farmers have alleged that the Fisheries department violated the election model code of conduct by issuing a ‘unilateral’ order on April 4, extending the timeframe for saline water aquaculture in Pokkali fields till April 30. Francis Kalthunkal, pokkali farmer and activist, said the latest order subverted efforts by paddy cultivators to drain the fields of saline water to …
A drive along the thin black ribbon-like road flanked by paddy fields in Ezhupunna village in Cherthala taluk can be a captivating sight for a visitor. Pokkali farms are supposed to adhere to a double crop calendar — paddy between April and October during the low saline phase of monsoon and saline aquaculture between November and March when salinity soars. …
Kochi: Rats, mice, fruit bats and crows have been termed as 'vermin' for destroying crops and now the Grey-headed swamphen or 'Neela Kozhi', as it is called in Kerala, may also be added to that list if the farmers of pokkali rice have anything to say on it. Bugged by the persistent invasion by these birds of their paddy fields, …
When Super Cyclone Amphan hit 24 South Parganas district of West Bengal in May last year, it broke embankments, allowing seawater to directly enter the rice fields destroying the crop. According to Francis Kalathungal, an office-bearer of the Kerala chapter of BSS, Pokkali farming on an experimental basis has already started in over ten acres of rice fields in the …
