Kollam district panchayat launches ‘Kathirmani’ matta rice in market
As part of its 2023-24 annual plan, Kollam district panchayat has launched matta rice under the brand Kathirmani in the market.
The objective of the project is to make the fallow paddy fields in the district cultivable and it was implemented through padasekara samitis, farmer groups, self-help groups and library societies.
In the first phase, 350 acres spread across 24 grama panchayats in the district were cultivated using seed varieties like Uma, Manuratna, Shreyas and Jyoti. The district panchayat will offer a support price and directly procure the crop.
“The support price of a kg of paddy is ₹28.20. The district panchayat has allocated its own fund to ensure support price for the timely procurement of paddy produced by the farmers,” said district panchayt president P. K. Gopan.
As part of the project, district panchayat will provide a subsidy of ₹35,000 to farmers for cultivating one hectare of land while ₹5,000/- per hectare will be offered as incentive to the land owner. After harvesting, the paddy produced was processed at Oil Palm India Ltd’s rice mill at Vechur.
District panchayat already has a range of products including coconut oil, milk, ghee and honey under its label. Kathirmani rice will be available in 5 kg packs and the Maximum Retail Price will be ₹325. “At present we have a stock of 12,000 kg. It will be available at district panchayat outlet, Krishi Bhavans in the district, Kuriyottumala hi-tech diary farm and selected supermarkets,” said the president. Currently work is in progress to expand paddy cultivation to 1,000 acres by 2024-25 and the district panchayat has allocated ₹2.25 crore for the project in this financial year.
- Telegram
SEE ALL
PRINT