The State Government conferred the best organic farmer award on him
Adhirangam is a small village in Kattimadu block, Thiruthuraipoondi in Tiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu.
All
these years the village, except for its ancient temple, was
nondescript. But today the number of people visiting the village has
gone up. All of them ask for one name, that of R. Jayaraman.
“It
seems the person is a store house of information on native paddy seeds,
their availability and cultivation methods,” says a tea shop owner on
the outskirts of the village.
Best choice
And
several farmers and associations around Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, and
Nagappattinam vouch for the fact that Mr. Jayaraman is the best choice
when it comes to seeking information on some lost and ancient paddy
seeds.
Poor financial situation at home compelled him to discontinue studies and take up some odd jobs.
During his late teens he joined Fedcot (Federation of Consumer Organization) and got elevated as agriculture training director.
“I am supposed to be the only person to achieve this position without any academic qualification in agriculture,” he smiles.
Seeing
his enthusiasm, an NRI donated his nine acres land for crop cultivation
and for organizing training programmes for the benefit of the farming
community.
“Since delta districts are predominantly
paddy oriented my initial interest was on organic rice production.
Later, I realized that the coastal districts are more prone to the
climate variations and every year farmers face problems either with
flood or cyclone, and seek compensation for their crop loss,” he
explains.
He happened to get more information about
the diversity of traditional paddy cultivated by coastal farmers and its
potential to withstand different climate variations and characteristics
of adaptability from Dr. Nammalvar, who inspired him to seek and find.
Several varieties
From
that day, he started locating several traditional paddy varieties in
the coastal districts as well as in other parts of Tamil Nadu and
documenting information about them.
He identified about 15 traditional paddy varieties and started growing all of them on the donated farm.
“I wanted to increase the seed availability to others,” he says.
In
2005, he organized the first traditional paddy seed festival. That
year, he distributed 2 kgs of traditional paddy seeds of 15 varieties to
more than 300 farmers.
The overwhelming response
motivated him to organize more such functions every year. The recently
organized traditional paddy seed festival Adhirangam was the eighth, and
about 64 different traditional varieties have been distributed to more
than 1,000 farmers.
“I distribute these varieties to
farmers with a promise that they must return double the quantity of
seeds in the next season,” says Mr. Jayaraman.
Maintains record
He maintains records and registers of farmers who benefit ted from the seed festival.
Some of the important varieties he maintains are Kattuyanam (best suited for flood condition), Poongkar (suited for saline soil), Karunguruvai (best for making biriyani), Kuzhiyadichan (for alkaline soil), Kudavaalai, Gauvuni, Mappillai Samba (for high energy), Samba Mosanam (best suited for making flat rice), Arupatham Kuruvai (short duration variety (60 days).
All the varieties can be easily cultivated under the SRI (System of Rice Intensification) method.
Since
he is well known in the region, mobilizing financial support especially
from banks or Nabard proves quite easy for him. In addition, he helps
banks to organize debt recovery camps in villages and makes the farmers
understand the importance of repaying the loans.
His
association with 'Create,' an organization working for consumer
awareness based at Thiruthuraipoondi, under the save our rice programme,
has motivated him to revive the traditional rice varieties.
He
has trained a team of farmers in all the above three districts and
regularly updates them on the current issues that affect farmers and
encourages them to participate and raise the issues at the farmer’s
grievance day.
Guest lectures
Last year, the State Government conferred the best 'Organic farmer award' on him.
Till
now, he has visited and delivered talks in nearly 300 schools and
colleges in the delta district on the importance of preserving native
seeds.
Those interested in knowing more can contact
Mr. R. Jayaraman at Kattimedu, Adhirangam, Thiruthuraipoondi, Tiruvarur
District, Mobile: 094433 20954
Courtesy-THE HINDU
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