Vetiver cultivation yields good returns to tribal families in Talavadi Hills

Cultivation of the indigenous variety of vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides), which wards off wild animals, yields good returns to the residents of Ramaranai tribal settlement in the Talamalai Panchayat

Cultivation of the indigenous variety of vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides), which wards off wild animals, yields good returns to the residents of Ramaranai tribal settlement in the Talamalai Panchayat in Talavadi Hills. The settlement has 22 families comprising 67 members belonging to the Sholaga community. They collect minor forest produce and cultivate crops on their small holdings. Since their land is located inside the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), wild animals invade their crops. As part of a pilot project, an Erode-based company -- East Valley Agro Farms-- distributed 2,000 vetiver and 2,000 lemongrass saplings to the people for cultivation in January 2019. Saplings were procured from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and cultivated in the farm lands in the settlement. “Since vetiver grows in warm climate and wards off wild animals, we encouraged the people to cultivate it”, said K. Prabhu and S. Naveen Kumar, managing directors of the company. Vetiver also plays a significant role in checking landslides and controlling soil erosion in hill areas, they added.