The expert team from Odisha recently visited the areas of infested water hyacinth in Kuttanad and other parts of Alappuzha.
The team, which consisted of officials of the Ministry of Agriculture from various districts, was led by Aviraj Dutta, a scientist at the International Research Institute of Crops for Semi -Suché Tropa (ICRISAT). The visit was part of the Odisha Ministry of Agriculture as part of its innovation grant for the addition of water hyacinth in the PURI district.
The team met with the Minister of Agriculture P. Prasad and the district collector Alex Varghese and discussed various methods established for control of water hyacinth in Kuttanad. Organic fertilizer made of water hyacinth from farmers in ODISha using technology developed by ICrisat was introduced to the Minister and Collectors. The team also expressed their willingness to cooperate with the initiatives conducted by the District Administration Alappuzha for rejuvenating Lake Vembanad.
As part of the program, the expert team visited the International Research and Training Center for Agriculture under the Sea (IRTCBSF), Kuttanad and MS Research Station Swaminathan Rice in Mankomb, where they had discussions with officials and farmers. Ways to convert water weeds to different value -added products were also explored.
Experts KG Padmakumar, M. Surendran, G. Nagendra PraBhu, State Agriculture Officers and others participated in discussions.
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Published – 31 August 2025 06:42
