Prized organic farming estate in Kerala lies idle

By Sanu George

Thiruvananthapuram,(IANS) Some describe it as the goose that lays the golden eggs, yet an estate run by the Poabs Organic Group that has earned many awards for organic farming is now lying idle as the Kerala government has taken back the land.


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With the state’s organic farming policy set to be unveiled Nov 1, the plight of the 351-acre Thuthampara estate in Palakkad district has come into sharp focus.

Initially owned by the Diwan of Kochi, the 100-year-old estate was leased out to Poabs in 1995 in an abandoned condition. Virtually no cultivation had taken place on it for 16 years.

The group revamped the estate by using it for the organic farming of pepper, coffee and areca nut. These products have been exported for years to buyers in Europe and the US after meeting stringent quality standards.

But the government has not extended the lease to Poabs this year.

“The crops are now ready for harvesting but the government will be unable to export the produce because the certification was for our company,” said Thomas Jacob of the group.

“Our products used to be cleared after numerous tests from our buyers abroad. With the government’s move, we are unable to supply this time.”

Jacob said the lease period of this estate expired July 1.

“We had given an application to the forest department way back in 2004 and they had recommended extension of the lease. However, no final decision was taken in spite of our repeated requests to the government of Kerala.

“On July 13, by an order, the state government took possession of the plantation from us because of pressure from a very small number of negative thinking groups without even hearing our case,” said Jacob.

Poabs had put in a lot of effort to turn the estate into a plantation through organic and biodynamic agriculture without the use of pesticides and other chemicals.

“Over the years due to our efforts this estate has been certified as organic by international certifying organisations like Control Union-Netherlands, Naturland-Germany, Demeter-Germany, NOP-USA, JAS-Japan, ISO 9001-2000, HACCP,” said Jacob.

Poabs has also been a recipient of the Quality Awards in the last five years at “Flavour of India – The Fine Cup” cupping competitions organised by the Coffee Board of India.

Very recently, the Speciality Coffee Association of America (SCAA) awarded Poabs for its “Innovative Sustainability Project in the Speciality Coffee Industry” – the only plantation from India to win this prestigious award.

The issue is now before the Kerala High Court, which has asked the government to file an affidavit.

According to R. Hali, former director of agriculture in Kerala and consultant to the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Poabs estate is the “goose that lays the golden eggs”.

“Its takeover by the government is making it sick. We should not kill it. An expert panel can be constituted to go into the whole question and help the goose continue giving us more golden eggs, making our organic policy and farmers more prosperous.

“This has to be viewed in tune with the unveiling of the new organic farming policy,” said Hali.

Poabs is hoping that the new organic farming policy that will come into effect Nov 1 will provide some respite or at least the court will come to its rescue.

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