Thrissur: On the occasion of World Environment Day on June 5, the Mahatma Gandhi University of Third A Movement (MGU3A) launched the ‘Haritha Muttam’ project aimed at promoting pesticide-free vegetable cultivation in households across Kerala.
The initiative was formally inaugurated in Thrissur district as part of efforts to encourage every household in the state to establish its own organic kitchen garden.
The inaugural vegetable planting ceremony was held at the residence of project coordinator Ambika Soman, where Radhakrishnan Chembookkavu, Founder Secretary of the Upabhokthru-Karshaka Ekopana Samithi (Consumer-Farmer Coordination Committee), officially launched the programme.
Under the project, trained farm guides will assist households interested in setting up organic kitchen gardens. The service includes everything from soil preparation to crop management and harvesting, ensuring proper care and support throughout the cultivation process. Sini Siddique and Fousiya Azad are leading the project’s field team.
The initiative is being jointly implemented by the Mahatma Gandhi University of Third and the Upabhokthru-Karshaka Ekopana Samithi with the objective of reducing dependence on chemically treated vegetables brought from other states and promoting public health through safe food production.
The committee has also urged the state government to bring one lakh hectares of fallow land in Kerala under organic cultivation.
MGU3A coordinators P.U. Kunjambu, M.R. Jayashree, Anice K. Francis, Mercy Jose and Reetha Paul, along with Upabhokthru-Karshaka Ekopana Samithi State President Aby Shankaran, Thrissur District President Kanakappilli Gopinathan and K.U. Venugopal, addressed the gathering and extended their support to the initiative.
