‘It is a messy affair’, was the young boy’s reply when he was asked why he didn’t follow his father’s path who is a farmer not just for a livelihood but for his passionate love for the job and pursued all his nearly seventy years of life.
For him, it is all the water, dust, mud and the pains of getting up in the morning and being attentive all the time about the seeds, crops and fertilisers and so on and so forth that dissuaded him from becoming a farmer and it is no wonder that many youth finds it difficult to mud their feet in the farms.
Keeping in mind the challenges that the modern generation is facing in falling in love with nature, a group of youth is sparing no stones unturned in inculcating the values of growing the fruits and vegetables that one needed in their backyard.
‘The Oman Krishikkoottam’, which is translated as a ‘group of passionate farmers’ has been relentlessly working towards this goal and has announced a ‘Harvest Festival’ to be held on Friday, February 3 at Halban Farm in Barka, a true manifestation of months long hard work and falling in love with the soil.
To be held from 8 am to 6 pm, scores of members of the ‘Oman Krishikkoottam’ spread across different governorates of the Sultanate of Oman will be given a platform to display their cultivation of the season.
Those who present the best yields will be given away ‘The Model Farmer’ awards as an encouragement to work more towards the common cause.
‘Oman Krishikkottam’ is a body of people to promote and educate about organic farming. Formed with just 10 members who shared similar affection towards agriculture a few years ago, is today a large group on Facebook with more than 3, 500 families to date.
WhatsApp groups are bifurcated into four different governorates in Oman to give precise instructions on sprouting, sowing, adding nutrients and protecting plants from pests which ensures highest yield possible.
“We received a big pat on our back when Sunil Kumar, Former Agriculture Minister of the State of Kerala who supported us by providing high quality seeds and an expert panel of agriculture officers who timely enlighten the members on various innovative farming techniques. We were able to meet him during his visit to Oman and was overwhelmed with the activities of the group,” Vinod, an active member of the Group said.
During the harvest season, the members will participate in a ‘Mathruka Karshaka/Karshakan Competition’ a contest to choose the best agriculturist. Winners will be chosen from a lengthy and labyrinth competition which lasts for three month and is categorised into 3 governorates of Oman — Muscat, Sohar and Al Buraimi.
As part of imparting the culture of agriculture to the next generation, Indian School Buraimi (ISB) has initiated on creating a region for farming under the supervision of the Oman Krishikkoottam. In 2018, Indian School Darsait (ISD) also created a vegetable garden in their school premise under the guidance of experts from Oman Krishikkoottam. As of this year Oman Krishikkoottam has initiated a competition called ”Little Green Fingers” where children are trained to grow vegetables such as tomato, eggplant and chilly plants provided by the Oman Krishikkoottam. Little winners will be chosen from their crops that they produce from the seeds provided by the Group cultivated on their land and will receive prizes for their work on the soil.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
