ICAR–Sugarcane Breeding Institute (ICAR-SBI-Coimbatore) on Thursday (May 7) held a training programme on growing kitchen gardens in tribal houses, aiming to add nutrition into the diets of tribespeople. This is because many children and women at a number of remote tribal hamlets in Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) were found to be malnurished.

The Institute gave the residents of Karumutti and Poochikottamparai seeds of various vegetables, along with agricultural inputs. The programme was conducted under the DAPSTC (Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribe Component) project in Tiruppur district, carried out in association with ATR-Tiruppur Division.

The tribespeople have been making ends meet by cultivating cardamom, coffee and pepper, and relying mostly on rice, sugar, edible oil and other basic provisions supplied through the Public Distribution System. Most women were found to be suffering from acute anaemia.

Vegetables cultivated without use of pesticides or chemical fertilisers in unpolluted environs on the hills, with the right market linkage, would also uplift the tribespeople economically, said P. Govindaraj, Director, ICAR-SBI. He also called upon the members of the Mudhuvar tribe to eradicate child marriage for protect women’s health.

Thanking the Forest department for teaming up for a noble cause, D. Puthira Prathap, Principal Scientist and Nodal Officer of the DAPSTC project, said a plethora of inputs were provided to the tribespeople after a need-based assessment for their holistic development.

Besides vegetable seeds, ragi seeds, arecanut seeds and inputs for cultivation like power tiller, hand hoe, spade, digging fork and sickle, the tribespeople also received pan, caps, liquid jaggery, cloth bag and tarpaulin.

Ganesan and Dharamraj, representatives of Poochakottamparai and Karumutti respectively, said the inputs would help them.

M. Prabu, Professor, TNAU, taught the tribal residents how to grow kitchen gardens and cultivate arecanut. Senior Scientist at ICAR-SBI R. Gopi taught them the methodology of cultivating high-quality ginger. Another Senior Scientist elaborated on organic farming practices and soil nutrient management.