Agriculture Minister P. Prasad inaugurating the distribution of soil health cards at Cherthala in Alappuzha on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: SURESH ALLEPPEY
All major products in the State, including agricultural products, will gradually be brought under the ‘Kerala Brand’, Agriculture Minister P. Prasad has said.
Inaugurating a workshop organised for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) in Alappuzha on Saturday, Mr. Prasad said the aim of the ‘Kerala Brand’ was to market high-quality products and services from Kerala globally.
The Minister said steps would be initiated to ensure the authenticity and quality of the products marketed under the ‘Kerala Brand’. “More than a thousand farming groups have been formed under Krishi Bhavans in the State so far. The aim is to produce high-quality products and services and market them under the Kerala Brand,” Mr. Prasad said.
He said that collectives like FPOs would help make farming profitable. “To generate income from agriculture, farmers should make value-added products. Multinational companies are currently making profits by manufacturing value-added agricultural products. Farmer collectives will help create opportunities for ordinary farmers to generate income from the value-added sector,” the Minister added.
Deputy Collector Jinu Abraham presided. Principal Agricultural Officer S. Anil Kumar, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development district development manager T.K. Premkumar and others attended the programme.
In another function, inaugurating the distribution of soil health cards to farmers at Cherthala, the Agriculture Minister said that soil health and human health are connected.
Soil health cards were issued after collecting and analysing soil samples from all farmers in seven grama panchayats and Cherthala municipality, which falls under the Cherthala Assembly constituency. Mr. Prasad said that based on the analysis, steps would be initiated to improve soil quality wherever needed. The initiative is part of the Vision Cherthala 2026 project.
Kanjikuzhy block panchayat president V.G. Mohan presided. Alappuzha district panchayat vice-president N.S. Sivaprasad, Kadakarappally grama panchayat president James Chinkuthara, Kanjikuzhy grama panchayat president Geetha Karthikeyan, Vayalar grama panchayat president Omana Banerjee and others attended the programme.
