What Is Kuttanad Farming?

What Is Kuttanad Farming?

Subject: Environment

Section: Protected Area

Concept:

What is Kuttanad Wetland Agriculture System?

• Kuttanad Wetland Agriculture System is unique, as it is the only system in India that favours rice cultivation below sea level in the land created by draining delta swamps in brackish waters. As an approach to cope with the imminent climate impacts in coastal areas and evolve efficient methods it aims to deal with soil availability and floods issues in agriculture.

More details:

• There are only two regions in the world where paddy is cultivated below the mean sea level. These places are in Holland and Kerala’s Kuttanad. It has been an age-old practice for the farmers of Kuttanad as the region lies two to three feet below the sea level. Kuttanad largely spans through three districts — Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta. While 65 per cent of the sub-sea-level farming is done in Alappuzha district, 30 per cent is done in Kottayam district and 5 per cent in Pathanamthitta district.
• This region of the Alappuzha district in Kerala lies more than two metres below sea level and has the lowest altitude in India. It is serviced by the state’s significant rivers Pampa, Meenachil, Achan Kovil and Manimala in addition to Vembanad-Kol wetland, India’s second-largest wetland ecosystem. Luxury houseboats occupy the lake and several canals link it with the rivers, while numerous cottages and eateries dot the islands.
• The Kuttanad area of Kerala was declared by FAO as a GIAHS (Globally important Agricultural Heritage System) on the basis of a proposal prepared by M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation MSSRF. Kuttanad is also a Ramsar site and a reputed destination for water tourism. Over the years, the Kuttanad ecosystem has deteriorated considerably due to human interventions, flooding and other ecological disasters.
• The Kuttanad system is a complex mosaic of fragmented agricultural landscapes divided in three structures: wetlands used for paddy activities and fish catching, garden lands used for coconut, tubers and food crops plantation and water areas used as inland fishing and shells. Wetlands are created thanks to the construction of polders with bunds and its dewatering.

Challenges:

• Facing a severe pollution of waters due to the tourism
• Use of chemicals

Vembanad

• Vembanad, also known as Punnamada is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala.
• It is the second largest Ramsar site in India only after the Sunderbans in West Bengal.
• Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Vembanadu Lakein Kottayam, Vaikom, Changanassery, Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha, Punnappra, Kuttanadu and Kochi Lake in Kochi.
• Kuttanad,also known as The Rice Bowl of Kerala, has the lowest altitude in India, and is also one of the few places in world where cultivation takes place below sea level. Kuttanad lies on the southern portion of Vembanad.
• The Nehru Trophy Boat Raceis conducted in a portion of the lake.
• The lake has its source in four rivers, Meenachil, Achankovil, Pampa and Manimala.
• It is separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow barrier island and is a popular backwater stretch in Kerala.
• The Government of India has identified the Vembanad wetland under the National Wetlands Conservation Programme.
• In 2019, Willingdon Island, a seaport located in the city of Kochi, was carved out of Vembanad Lake.
• One of the most outstanding features of this lake is the 1252 m long saltwater barrier, Thanneermukkom, which was built to stop saltwater intrusion into Kuttanad.