As Onam nears, blooms in various hues have begun to dot the rural landscape of the district. Oleanders, chrysanthemum, jasmine, and marigold are being grown in various grama panchayats with an eye on the profitable Onam market.
In Parassala block panchayat, the flowers are being cultivated in more than an acre of fallow land at a cost of ₹5 lakh.
Thirty cents of land close to Lutheran Lower Primary School, Ponvila, in Kulathoor grama panchayat, and 80 cents of school land at Plamootikada is where the flowers are grown.
Flower cultivation began here in March 2021 as an experiment. When the first harvest of ‘jamanthi’ in May became successful, the cultivation was expanded as part of the ‘Poovili’ project.
Parassala block panchayat president S.K. Ben Darwin says the aim is to turn Parassala into a flower village. After the Onam season, the flower cultivation will be expanded on a commercial scale, creating many job opportunities. The flowers will be sold locally through the Onam market at rates seen in Thovala in Tamil Nadu.
Pallichal grama panchayat has also jumped on to the floriculture bandwagon, following a call by I.B. Satheesh, Kattakada MLA, to make this Onam memorable using flowers grown here.
The cultivation is being done on five acres in various wards of the panchayat. ‘Jamanthi’ in yellow and orange is the main attraction. The flowers have been grown in a specific time frame in each place to ensure their supply on all days from ‘Atham’ to ‘Thiruvonam.’
The grama panchayat, Agriculture department, and the Kdumbashree together with the support of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme implemented the farming. There are plans to start apiculture too.
The first harvest was inaugurated by Mr. Satheesh. The harvest began with that in Kurandivila and Kannancode wards in the panchayat. Hybrid jamanthi saplings brought from Bengaluru were used to harvest the flowers in two months.
The flowers will be sold at Onam melas being organised in the panchayat. There are plans to expand it into a commercial enterprise for steady supply of flowers to the market.
