Retired agriculture professional grows a model mangrove forest

While the State witnessed a rapid decline in mangroves in recent decades, there are a few who still care for the lush green trees with tangled roots, which can help mitigate climate change by storing huge amounts of carbon dioxide and form the first line of defence for coastal communities.

When Anil Kumar M.R. retired as an executive engineer from the Agriculture Department in 2011, he wanted to do something different. After mulling over a few ideas, he finally decided to develop a mangrove-based integrated farming project in the family-owned five acres of ‘wasteland’ at Devikulangara, near Kayamkulam.

After spending almost a decade planting and conserving, Mr. Kumar and his wife Mini K. Rajan, former additional director, Agriculture Department, are now proud owners of a unique ‘model mangrove forest’, spread over 2.5 acres housing a large number of mangrove trees belonging to nine different species, including Rhizophora mucronata, Bruguiera cylindrica, and Ceriops tagal.

Fighting salinity

“The land was used for paddy cultivation till the mid-1990s. However, with the construction of Kayamkulam fishing harbour, saline water entered and flooded the paddy fields. It was Forest Department officials who advised me to plant mangroves. I initially planted 200 mangrove seedlings procured from the Forest Department and the result was amazing. Later, in collaboration with the department, I started a mangrove nursery and nurtured 10,000 seedlings. A majority of them have been planted on the embankments of ponds in the farm,” Mr. Kumar, former managing director, Kerala State Bamboo Corporation, said.

He has put a lot of effort and overcome setbacks to develop the ‘mangrove forest’. “After the large-scale planting, 4,000 plants had withered.

Although it was disheartening, I decided to plant new seedlings and developed the place into a model coastal ecosystem. The success of the project can be sensed from the fact that mangroves in the farm absorb 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually,” Mr. Kumar added.

Apart from planting mangroves, he has developed ponds in the place and is farming fish. According to him, the mangroves can be used for strengthening the outer bunds at Kuttanad. The farm has direct access to brackish water and is getting a lot of interest among students and scholars conducting research on mangroves.