Class 5 student farmer grows microgreens for 480 schoolmates, dreams of own forest
A Class V student, Sidhivinayak, grows 16 varieties of microgreens for his school's midday meals, promoting chemical-free food and inspiring others to farm, and dreams of creating a forest.
A Class V student, Sidhivinayak, grows 16 varieties of microgreens for his school's midday meals, promoting chemical-free food and inspiring others to farm, and dreams of creating a forest.
A Class V student, Sidhivinayak, grows 16 varieties of microgreens for his school's midday meals, promoting chemical-free food and inspiring others to farm, and dreams of creating a forest.
Ochira: At an age when most children are busy discovering new games, Class 5 student S. Sidhivinayak of Klappana St. Joseph UP School is busy growing microgreens. A small experiment he began at home has since grown into an effort that supplies fresh produce for the midday meals of all 480 students at his school.
Sidhivinayak, son of Sajith Pavithran and Hanan Babu of Chakkalathara House in Adinad North, first took to farming at the age of four, growing vegetables at home using organic manure. Over time, farming grew into a passion, with the Covid pandemic giving him more time to nurture it.
Keen to provide his schoolmates with safe, chemical-free food, the young farmer soon turned to microgreens, a low-cost, space-saving form of cultivation that requires little land. He now grows 16 varieties for the school's midday meal programme and also supplies the produce to schools in neighbouring panchayats.
Sidhivinayak's farming efforts are backed by his parents, who rear a cow to provide manure for his organic farm. Besides microgreens, he also grows watermelon, vegetables and other crops.
Seeds and saplings have become his preferred birthday gifts for friends. Instead of conventional presents, this young farmer distributes packets of different seeds and young plants, hoping to encourage them to take up farming.
One of his biggest dreams is to buy a piece of land and turn it into a forest. It was at Sidhivinayak's request that the former General Education Minister V Sivankutty decided to include microgreens in the midday meal programme for schools twice a week.
Sidhivinayak's farming efforts have also earned him several honours. The government recognised his achievements with the Ujjwala Balyam Award in 2023, while he has also received the Nakshatra Balyam Award from the Child Protection Council and the Bala Prathibha Award from the APJ Abdul Kalam Foundation.