Agriculture Minister P. Prasad, MLAs- H. Salam and P.P. Chitharanjan and others during the inauguration of the Vision 2031 Agricultural Seminar in Alappuzha on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: SURESH ALLEPPEY
Five lakh jobs will be created in the agriculture sector in Kerala, Agriculture Minister P. Prasad has said. He made the announcement while unveiling the Agriculture department’s ‘Vision 2031’ document at the Vision 2031 Agricultural Seminar held in Alappuzha on Saturday. The policy envisions a modern, sustainable and self-reliant agricultural Kerala.
The plan includes generating ₹10,000 crore in international business for Kerala’s agriculture sector, implementing a National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)-aided ₹1,000-crore 10-year project to mitigate human-wildlife conflict, providing artificial intelligence and advanced technology training in agriculture to 10,000 young people, and establishing farms in 1,000 schools across the State.
The document aims to promote climate-resilient farming, secondary agricultural development, doubling of farmers’ income and self-sufficiency. The department has set several ambitious goals, including achieving a barren land–free Kerala, ensuring one lakh farmers earn ₹1 lakh per month, launching 10,000 ‘Keralagro’ products, participating in 50 international business meets under the leadership of KABCO, expanding the ‘Krishi Samriddhi’ initiative to 750 grama panchayats, achieving self-sufficiency in vegetable production and bringing one lakh hectares under cultivation through the ‘NAWO-DHAN’ programme.
Inaugurating the State-level Vision 2031 Agricultural Seminar, Mr. Prasad, citing a Kerala State Economics and Statistics department report, said that the agriculture sector recorded 4.65% growth in the 2023–24 fiscal year, the highest in the last decade. “During the same period, the all-India average was only 2.1%, underscoring Kerala’s strong performance. This growth was achieved by increasing production and productivity, focusing on value-added products and strengthening the secondary agriculture sector,” the Minister said.
Mr. Prasad said that through the ‘Njangalum Krishiyileke’ project, 23,568 farming groups were formed. Addressing the issue of crop damage due to wild animal attacks, the Minister said that the Agriculture department now provides compensation. The department has also allocated ₹3 crore from the State Plan fund to protect farmlands, he said.
Under the initiative ‘One Krishi Bhavan, One Value-Added Product’, a total of 4,000 products have been developed. Of these, 1,000 products have been brought under the common brand ‘Keralagro’. ‘Keralagro’-branded showrooms have been opened in all districts, giving a strong boost to the value-added sector, the Minister said.
H. Salam, MLA, presided. P.P. Chitharanjan, MLA, Alappuzha District Panchayat president K.G. Rajeshwari participated.
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Published – October 25, 2025 06:14 pm IST
