The 18-km drive from Kannur town to Mayyil in Kerala ends in a diorama of paddy glistening in its fields. It is a wonderful sight and the verdant fields speak of local prosperity.
Not long ago, these same fields were fallow. Growing paddy was not remunerative so farmers looked elsewhere for an income. But even as the situation seemed hopeless, change arrived serendipitously in the past 18 months.
The Mayyil gram panchayat, worried about the steep decline in paddy farming, searched for answers. They found inspiration in P.K. Radhakrishnan, agriculture officer at the Mayyil Krishi Bhavan. He advised. . .