FARMING STATUS

Three districts are primarily engaged in the farming of Pokkali, Ernakulam, Thrissur, and Alappuzha. 22 sites in Ernakulam district, 10 sites in Alappuzha district, and 6 sites in Thrissur are currently under cultivation. The years 2017 and 2018 have had consistent harvest, but the year 2019 this has been significantly impacted.

Pokkali Paddy is traditionally cultivated in Kerala from June to October of the year. And then the field would be inundated by letting in water from the backwaters and prawns are grown till April the following year. This rice-prawn alternation makes for a mutually supportive ecosystem. The droppings of prawn work as natural manure for the paddy and the tall paddy stalks left (after the panicles are cut off) become highly congenial habitat for the prawns.

EZHIKKARA POKKALI FIELD