Agriculture
In News: Pokkali farmers met on the side-lines of a pokkali rice harvest festival organised on in Kochi with sustainability dominating sessions addressed by agricultural officers and farmers.
- The cultivation of Pokkali rice, had been strained over recent years with a tendency among farmers to give it up entirely
- The farmers were worried about impact of climate change with unseasonal rain flooding fields.
About Pokkali rice:
- It is a salt water-resistant variety that grows tall.
- It is cultivated in the coastal regions of Kerala.
- Pokkali is an ancient farming practice where one season of rice farming is alternated with another season of prawn culture. Hence, pokkali rice is a part of the ‘one fish and one rice’ annual cycle.
- The prawn seedlings feed on the leftovers of the harvested crop, while the rice crop, which gets no other fertiliser or manure, draws nutrients from the prawns’ excrement and other remnants.
- Rice farming and prawn farming are mutually complementary.
- They are useful in climate- resilient agriculture as they can withstands flooding.
- A storehouse of nutrition, they are rich in fibre and protein content, antioxidants with benefits of vitamin E, and minerals such as iron, boron and sulphur
- Pokkali rice has a geographical indication (GI) tag since 2007.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Q.1) System of Rice Intensification” of cultivation, in which alternate wetting and drying of rice fields is practised, results in : (2022)
- Reduced seed requirement
- Reduced methane production
- Reduced electricity consumption
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
