Pokkalli farming in coastal Kerala
Pokkalli farming is quite unique to Kerala. That, too, only certain areas in Kerala. It does not use fertilisers or manure or ploughing. The Pokkalli variety of rice is cultivated alternately with prawn breeding in the same field. It is done in the coastal regions of Alleppey, Ernakulam and Thrissur. From June to November, rice is cultivated; and from mid-November to March, prawn farming takes place.
The symbiotic relation between the prawns and the paddy is such that the prawn excrements is used by the paddy seedlings as fertiliser and, the prawn feed on the leftovers of the harvested crop. The islands off Cochin are good for this type of cultivation due to the mixing of saline and freshwater, which is necessary for the farming to take place. This variety of rice is said to be extremely protein-rich.
In order to lure the tiny prawns from the Arabian Sea into the fields, the farmers keep a burning hurricane lantern at the mouth of the sluice gate on high-tide nights. Attracted by the light, the prawns stay in the fields for up to four months and grow big. During low tide, when the water flows out, the farmers trap the grown prawns using nets.
This interesting way of alternative rice cultivation and prawn farming have been studied by research students and scientists. As a result of labour shortage and other problems, farmers are forced to used newer methods of cultivation.
