Report on Farmers Training conducted at Mookkannoor on 04-08-2010

Introduction

Ernakulam lies in the eastern part of the mainland of city in . The District has an area of 895.3Sq. km. The borders of the district are the Arabian Sea in the West, Thrissur District in the North, Idukki District in the East and Alappuzha and Kottayam Districts in the South.

Mookkannoor is an agrarian belt, with a reputation for its high value crops like nut meg, coconut, rubber, pepper, and vegetable crops, especially banana (nendran). Though predominantly rural in orientation, Moookkannoor is educationally very advanced, it is one of the most agriculturally developed and progressive area. It is well connected by roads to the nearby and markets.

. The Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre of Kerala Agricultural University, Office of the Assistant Director of Agriculture, Angamaly, and Krishi Bhavan, Mookkannoor jointly organized a Farmers’ Training at the K.P.Hormis Memorial Community Hall, at Mookkannoor on 04-08-2010. This was the first farmers’ training programme organized by the Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre in District.

The registration started at 9.00 am. The programme formally began at 10.00 am with Smt. Sherly A.F, Agricultural Officer, Krishi Bhavan, Mookkannoor welcoming the gathering.

Plate.1 Farmers registering for the training programme

The function was presided over by Sri. M.P. Paulachan, Chairman, Standing Committee (Development), Mookkannoor Grama Panchayath. The function was inaugurated by Smt. Eliakkutty Teacher, President, Mookkannoor Grama Panchayath.

Plate.2 Welcome Address – Smt. Sherly, Agricultural Officer, Mookkannoor

Plate.3 Presidential Address by Sri. M.P. Paulachan

Plate. 4 Inaugural Address by Smt. Elikkutty Teacher Panchayath

The inaugural session concluded with the vote of thanks being proposed by Sri. A Kumaran, Agricultural Assistant, Mookkannoor Krishi Bhavan.

Plate .5 Technical Session I by Dr.K.Satheesh Babu

This was followed by the technical sessions. The first session was handled by Dr. K. Satheesh Babu, Professor & CCPI of the Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre. The topic of discussion was “From Supply driven to Demand driven Agriculture: The Role of Agricultural Market Intelligence”. The changing scenario of Kerala’s agriculture and the new challenges faced on account of it were explained with facts. The peculiar problems faced by the Kerala farmers in agricultural marketing on account of the predominance of small and fragmented holdings, low productivity and high wage rates were illustrated. Group approach initiatives were suggested to overcome the problems posed by small marketable surplus and lack of on farm processing for value addition. Successful case studies and farmer innovations were discussed in detail. The importance of agricultural market intelligence in such a market- led scenario for farmers was focused. The activities undertaken by the consortium on “Establishing and Networking of Agricultural Market Intelligence Centres in ” were explained, and the pioneering efforts by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in leading the farmers of Tamil Nadu with accurate price forecasts were highlighted. The market intelligence activities of the NAIP attached to Kerala Agricultural University for pepper, coconut and cardamom were explained and a copy of latest forecasts made for these crops along validations and publicity materials were distributed to the participants.

Plate .6 A view of the participants The second session was handled by Dr. K. Jesy Thomas, Co PI of the project. Her topic of discussion was “Price Behaviour of Major Crops in Kerala”. In the session, the changing trends in the price of major agricultural commodities in the area were discussed, with the seasonal and cyclical variations in prices. How to combat price risks in such volatile situation using agricultural market intelligence was also debated.

Plate.7. Dr.K.Jesy Thomas handling the technical session II

Plate.8 The Feedback Session in progress

The participants were given an opportunity to clarify their points towards the end. The technical sessions evoked keen response from the audience as was evidenced by the feed back session. In all, 71 farmers attended the training programme. A notable feature of the training programme was large turn out of women participants. Intersession tea and refreshments were provided to all participants during the training.