Measures on to expand cultivation of GI-tagged Onattukara sesame

Subject : Geography

Section: Economical geography

Context:

Kerala Authorities have announced an incentive scheme for growing sesame on fields and homesteads in the Thekkekara Krishi Bhavan limits.

Details about the initiative:

The project is a joint initiative involving the local Krishi Bhavan, Onattukara Vikasana Agency (OVA), Onattukara Regional Agricultural Research Station (ORARS), Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kayamkulam, and Mavelikara Thekkekara panchayat.
The financial assistance of ₹40 for a cent of land would be given to farmers for cultivating sesame.

About Onattukara sesame:

Onattukara sesame is currently grown on around 600 hectares spread across 43 local bodies in three districts of Alappuzha, Kollam and Pathanamthitta.
The OVA, the registered owner of the GI-tagged sesame with Agriculture Minister P. Prasad as its chairman, plans to increase the area under sesame cultivation in the region to 2,000 hectares.
Onattukara sesame oilseeds have added medicinal value, and contain high levels of Vitamin E and antioxidants.
It also contains oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitoleic acid and so on which help maintain good health.
Other varieties of Onattukara sesame- Ayali variety, Kayamkulam-1, Thilak, Thilathara and Thilarani, all developed by the ORARS.