‘Kani Vellari’ harvest begins

Farmers are getting around ₹50 per kg for the vegetable

With the Vishu festival around the corner, farmers who cultivated 'Kani Vellari' (golden cucumber) in Kanjikuzhy and nearby areas have started harvesting the crop.

'Kani Vellari' is one of the items used in arranging 'Vishu Kani'. A good number of farmers have cultivated the veggie in the region. The harvest was inaugurated by Kanjikuzhy grama panchayat president Geetha Karthikeyan recently.

Sunil, an organic vegetable farmer from Kanjikuzhy, harvested 4,000 kg of 'Kani Vellari' from half an acre last week. The demand for the item is so high that he had received orders from various places for 2,000 kgs even before the seeds were sown.

Farmers are getting around ₹50 per kg and the price is expected to go up further in the coming days. 'Kani Vellari' cultivated by the Alappuzha municipality in its vegetable garden is ready for harvest. The civic body has also grown other vegetables with an eye on the Vishu market.

Besides 'Kani Vellari', farmers in the region have grown 'Ambili Mathan' (small pumpkin), which too is used in preparing 'Vishu Kani'. Up until recently, 'Ambili Mathan' was brought from the neighbouring States.

Meanwhile, farmers associated with the Thiruvizha Farm Tourism project have announced up to 50% discount on vegetables during the festival period. On Monday, they sold 6,000 kgs of vegetables in a special sale. It was inaugurated by P.P. Chitharanjan, MLA. The farmers are cultivating 15 types of veggies along with marigolds and sunflowers on 15 acres near Cherthala.