Pokkali Rice

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

Pokkali farmers met on the sidelines of a pokkali rice harvest festival organised under the aegis of Kadamakudy panchayat, on the outskirts of Kochi, and Pokkali Cooperative with sustainability dominating sessions addressed by agricultural officers and farmers.

• The cultivation of the rice variety, which is part of the ‘one fish and one rice’ annual cycle, had been strained over recent years with a tendency among farmers in most parts of the coastal areas of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts of Kerala to give it up entirely.
• The farmers were worried about impact of climate change with unseasonal rain flooding fields.

Pokkali Rice

• It is a unique variety of rice known for its saltwater resistance and is cultivated in the districts of Alappuzha, Thrissur and Ernakulam districts of Kerala.
• GI Tag: The brand Pokkali has received a GI tag from the Geographical Indications Registry Office,Chennai.
• Vyttila-11: It is the latest variety of pokkali developed by the Kerala Agricultural University.
• It is a salt water-resistant variety that grows tall.
• It is cultivated in the coastal regions of Kerala.
• The prawn seedlings feed on the leftovers of the harvested crop, while the rice crop, which gets no other fertiliser or manure, draws nutrients from the prawns’ excrement and other remnants.
• Rice farming and prawn farming are mutually complementary.
• They are useful in climate- resilient agriculture as they can withstands flooding.
• A storehouse of nutrition, they are rich in fibre and protein content, antioxidants with benefits of vitamin E, and minerals such as iron, boron and sulphur.