Students admiring ornamental fishes at the Okkal farm
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In a first, the government seed farm at Okkal, near Perumbavoor, is exploring the possibility of gaining credits for carbon trading, even as the process of assessing carbon emission and sequestration at the farm is complete and an official declaration of the results is expected later this month.
An official associated with the seed farm, which will be the second in line to get the carbon-neutral certification after the Thuruthu Seed Farm, Aluva, said the Okkal farm had grown into a comprehensive experience for farmers as well as students who care for nature.
The official added that a group of educational institutions had tied up with the Okkal farm for making the farm venue a study centre for the care of nature and for experiencing the way farming is done in an integrated manner.
Students of zoology, botany, and sociology visit the farm to study the conditions there. Besides paddy seed production, chicken, ducks, cows, and bees are reared in an organised manner at the farm. It also has a butterfly park, apart from honey production and mushroom production centres.
Students visiting the farm are treated to a variety of activities, including visits to the fields, staying at the traditional thatched and bamboo houses, mud football, and care of animals.
The farm authorities said an attempt would be made to get the farm certified for carbon trading in the future. This will be the first-of-its-kind attempt to monetise the work.
The 10-acre farm produces roughly 60 to 70 tonnes of paddy seeds every year, along with one to two tonnes of vegetable seeds as well as coconut fingerlings and ornamental plants.
The effort to convert State seed farms into carbon-neutral entities is part of the government’s effort to convert 14 farms into such facilities and to neutralise carbon emissions in the State.
Published – May 03, 2025 07:40 pm IST