Mangattidam, Kannur: M Sheeba of Thekkenmoola, a resident of Neerveli, is making the soil yield gold through her relentless dedication and hard work. In just one year, she has risen to become the best woman farmer in Mangattidam Panchayat. She cultivates bananas on three acres of land and vegetables on another two acres.

Sheeba carries out her cultivation with the support of the Mangattidam Panchayat and the local Agricultural Office under various schemes. She uses drip irrigation to supply water and manure directly to her crops.

Her farming approach is driven by a vision to modernise agriculture by adapting to the challenges of a rapidly changing climate, conserving excess water that is lost in conventional irrigation methods, besides to make the process of applying manure and water easy and cost-effective to make cultivation profitable.

On her three-acre plot, Sheeba has cultivated 2,500 tissue-cultured banana plantains under a plastic mulch system. The project has been implemented at a cost of ₹4 lakh, of which ₹8 lakh will be provided as a subsidy. She now harvests bananas weighing between 12 and 16 kg from each plantain.

Meanwhile, Sheeba’s husband, P Anil, along with his friend C Vinod, are cultivating vegetables on a three-acre plot near Thekkenmoola in Neerveli as part of the Krishi Samridhi scheme, launched by the local Agricultural Office and the Panchayat to make the local body agriculturally sustainable, .

The harvest of Sheeba’s tissue-cultured bananas was inaugurated by Panchayat President P C Gangadharan, with Standing Council Chairperson M Sheena presiding over the event. Others who spoke included A Soumya, Assistant Director in charge of agriculture in Kuthuparamba, Panchayat member O Shiju; Agriculture Officer K Akhila and Agriculture Assistants K Vijesh and R Santosh Kumar.