| Narayanan Nambiar, Velluva House, Kanjileri, Kozhikode |
Cultivation of yam has been turned into a successful livelihood by Narayanan Nambiar, Velluva House, Kanjileri, who has been growing the crop in his ½-acre plot for the past 30 years. And the plants that produce above-50-kg tubers below the earth from just organic farming are even capable of bearing the weight of a man above them.
65-year-old Narayanan learned the folk wisdom of yam cultivation from another farmer, Kuttiatt Kutty Nambiar. The planting of yam is done on specific days according to the Malayalam calendar and the harvesting too is determined by the stars associated with the Malayalam month.
85 kg has been the heaviest yam produced in his farm. Nambiar aims to produce yam weighing 100 kg. Since the local market does not require such heavy yam, he is selling it all to the Agriculture Department and others. He is a regular prize winner at agriculture exhibitions in the region.
His wife Mancheri Santha and 5 offsprings actively assist him in the cultivation. He now plans to expand the cultivation by taking more land on lease.
Many farmers come to him seeking the practical wisdom of yam cultivation.
Nambiar in the farm. His grandson on top of the yam plant
Courtesy:
T.P.Rajeevan, Mathrubhumi, January 28, 2006
Contributed by: Administrator
