Kuttanad below-sea-level farming
Also called: Kuttanad · Topic: Land Use, Farming Systems and Cropping Seasons in India · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 1 "The Story of Indian Farming"
Meaning
Kuttanad below-sea-level farming is a traditional farming system in Kerala, near Vembanad lake. Farmers grow paddy on land reclaimed from the lake and backwaters, about 1-3 m below sea level. Earthen dykes (raised walls) hold back the water, and the Thanneermukkom barrier stops salt water from entering the fields.
The system combines rice growing with fishing and duck rearing, so the same wetland gives several kinds of food. For this reason Kuttanad is called Kerala's "rice bowl". In 2013 FAO listed it as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS), which is FAO's list of valuable traditional farming systems.
Example
In Kuttanad, on the southern edge of Vembanad lake in Kerala, paddy fields lie below the level of the nearby backwaters. Dykes and the Thanneermukkom barrier keep the fields dry enough and free of salt so farmers can grow rice.
Don't confuse with
- India's other GIAHS sites: Pampore saffron, Kashmir (2011) and Koraput traditional agriculture, Odisha (2012). Neither of these is below sea level.
Related concepts
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research
- Zabo system
- Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems