Anju is growing around eighty varieties of vegetables, including foreign ones, in her farm.Rajakumari, Idukki: Agriculture is a passion for Anju Thomas. Her unbridled enthusiasm to learn new farming techniques and the readiness to toil in the soil has now earned her a seat for the B.Sc. degree course in agriculture at the Government College of Agriculture in Kasaragod.
Daughter of Parakkal Thomas-Wilsamma couple of Konnathady in Idukki, Anju believes this academic pursuit would take her one more step closer to her ultimate dream of becoming an agriculture officer.
The eighteen-year-old, who was the recipient of the state horticulture award for the best student in 2017, was offered a seat for the undergraduate program run by the Kerala Agriculture University in recognition of her hard work and dedication. Minister for agriculture V S Sunil Kumar and officials attached to the district agriculture office were instrumental in enrolling her for the course.
The love Anju has for farming developed while she was in the fifth grade. “I started with growing flowering plants as a pastime activity. Slowly, I switched to vegetable cultivation in our courtyard. By the time I reached Class X, I could expand my organic farming to the entire three acres of land owned by the family.
After completing the SSLC, Anju did not think twice to join the Vocational Higher Secondary School in Rajakumari and choose Agriculture as the major subject.
While doing the Plus Two course, she had the opportunity to visit several agriculture research institutes and nurseries.
From those visits, she brought home new lessons and alternative methods in farming and shared them with her parents and neighbors who eked out a living through traditional farming practices. Soon, Anju’s farm became a hot destination for study visits by students pursuing agriculture courses and farmers.
She has reaped rich dividends from integrated as well as polyhouse farming. She is growing around eighty varieties of vegetables, including foreign ones, in her farm. Many of them like broccoli, celery, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, Kohlrabi, basil etc. are not so popular among farmers in Kerala, but they definitely add more color and charm to Anju’s farmland. Ten sparkling varieties of ornamental chilies too are head-turners.
She also makes decent profits by rearing cattle and pet birds. It is an easy source for her to procure organic manure as well.
Before being honored by the state government, Anju had won many awards instituted by local bodies and the agriculture department.
She is able to visit home only occasionally nowadays. But once she is back, she spends most of the time in her farm watering and pruning the plants, her parents said.
