Njangalum Krishiyilekku campaign gets a mascot

Animated version of Chillu the squirrel as well to woo children

Meet Chillu the squirrel. Chillu is the mascot for 'Njangalum Krishiyilekku,' the campaign launched by the Agriculture department to promote agriculture as a household activity and localised production of safe-to-eat food.

The concept behind the campaign is, 'every little bit helps,' more or less what the Malayalam proverb 'Annarakkannanum thannalayathu' stands for, according to the department.

Artist Deepak Mouthattil has created the mascot. The Agriculture department said it was planning to have an animated version of 'Chillu' so as to make the squirrel popular with children.

'Njangalum Krishiyilekku' puts forward the idea of farming in small spaces, such as vegetable cultivation in as small an area as 1 cent, rooftop farming and vegetable gardens in every household. Committees with farmers as their members will monitor the activities from the ward-level to the district level.