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| Wayanad,
One of the fourteen districts in Kerala (India) is situated
in an elevated picturesque mountainous plateau in Western Ghats.
It lies between north latitude 11degree 26’28’’
and 11degree 48’22’’ and east longitude 75
degree 46’38’’ and 76 degree 26’11’’.
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There
is a land not far from Calicut, the city of Zamorins, yet
a world apart from Kerala's agricultural and industrial epicentres.
It is a quiet place where scenic beauty wild life and traditional
matter, simplicity is a virtue and beauty still blossoms from
the mountainous horizon and from the green glaze of alluring
vegetation. This is Wayanad
- the green paradise -
the border world of greener part of Kerala. Clean and pristine,
enchanting and hypnotising this land has a history and mystery,
culture and social epistemology yet to be discovered. Located
at a distance about 76 km. from the sea shores of Calicut
in the Western Ghats, this station is full of plantations,
forests and wildlife. Wayanad hills are contiguous to Mudumala
in Tamil Nadu and Bandhipur in Karnataka, thus forming a vast
land mass for the wild life to move about in its most natural
abode.
The name Wayanad has been derived from the expression
'Vayal nadu' - the village of paddy fields.
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In
the ancient times this land was ruled by the Rajas of the
Veda tribe. In later times, Wayanad came under the rule of
Pazhassi Rajahs of Kottayam royal dynasty.
When Hyder Ali became the ruler of Mysore,
he invaded Wayanad and brought it under his way. In the days
of Tipu, Wayanad was restored to the Kottayam
royal dynasty. But Tipu handled entire Malabar to the British
after the Sreerandapattam truce that he made with them. This
was followed by fierce encounters between the British and
Kerala Varma Pazhassi Rajah of Kottayam.
Even when the Rajah was driven to the wilderness of Wayanad
he waged several battles with his Nair and Kurichia-Kuruma
tribal soliders against the British troops and defeated the
latter several times through guerilla type encounters. The
British could get only the dead body of the Rajah who killed
himself somewhere in the interior forest. Thus Wayanad fell
into the hands of British, and with it began a new turn in
the history of this area. The Britishers opened up the Plateau
for cultivation of tea and other cash crops. Roads were laid
across the dangerous slopes of Wayanad from Calicut and Telicherry.
These roads were extended to the city of Mysore and to Ooty
through Gudalur. Roads facilities provided opportunities for
the people of outside Wayanad to flow and settle to these
jungle regions. |
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When
the state of Kerala was formed in 1956, Wayanad was part of
Kannur district. Later South Wayanad was added to Kozhikode
district and then on November 1, 1980 North and South Wayanad
joined together to form the present Wayanad district.
This mountain district is in many ways the most picturesque
in the state, with its rolling hills covered with tropical
rainforest. Wayanad also contributes richly to its fortunes,
thanks to the flourishing cultivation of many spices, as well
as Tea, Coffee and Cocoa. Wayanad is situated at a height
of 700 to 2100m above sea level and is home to many species
of animal and plant life. Temperatures range from 12 to 25
degrees centigrade. This district also has the added advantage
of linking Kerala with the golden triangle of South India
: Bangalore, Mysore and Ooty. |
This
high altitude district is characterised by the cultivation
of perennial plantation crops and spices. The major plantation
crops include coffee, tea, pepper, cardamom and rubber.
Coffee based farming system is a notable feature of Wayanad.
Coffee is grown both as pure crop and as mixed crop along
with pepper. Pepper is grown largely along with coffee in
the north eastern parts of the district, especially in Pulpally
and Mullankolly areas. Coffee in Wayanad (66,999 ha.) shares
33.65 per cent of the total cropped area in the district
and 78 per cent of the coffee area in the state. Other major
crops are rubber(63,015 ha.), coconut(59,452 ha.), cardamom
(38,348 ha.), tea (31,792 ha.) cassava and ginger. A recent
increase in the area under coconut cultivation is noticed
in the lower elevations. Paddy is cultivated in 22,772 hectares
of land. The rice fields of Wayanad are in the valleys formed
by hillocks and in majority of paddy lands, only a single
crop is harvested. Ginger cultivation in Wayanad has also
substantially increased in recent times and the ginger produced
is mainly marketed in the form of green ginger. Homestead
farming assumes importance in this district. The average
size of holdings are 0.68 ha. A variety of crops including
annuals and perennials are grown in these small holdings.
The crops include coconut, arecanut, pepper, vegetables,
tuber crops, drumstick, papaya, etc. and fruit trees like
mango and jack. The crop patterns/crop combinations prevelant
in this district are not based on any scientific norms.
Therefore scientific cropping patterns suitable for the
agro-ecological situation is to be recommended.
THE
POPULATION OF THE DISTRICT: Accoring to 1991 census,
is 6,72,128 of which male population is 3,41,958 and female
3,30,170. The density of population is 316.2 per sq. kilometres.
The population of scheduled tribes is 1,14,969 and that
of scheduled caste is 27,835. Strictly speaking, there is
no urban population in Wayanad. However, life in Sulthan
Bathery, Mananthavady and Kalpetta is in the process of
gaining urban status. The decadal growth rate in the population
of Wayanad was 59.17 per cent in 1941-51, 62.60 per cent
in 1951-61, 50.35 per cent in 1961-71 and 33.71 per cent
in 1971-81. In the first three decades of this century,
the growth of population in Wayanad was less than ten per
cent. This shows that there was an influx of settlers to
Wayanad after the Second World War. The economic slump,
difficulties and miseries creeping as a result of war into
the life of common people, compelled them to seek 'pastures
anew' on the virgin soil of Wayanad from all parts of Kerala
and Karnataka. In the first year of settlement, thousands
succumbed to malaria and the attack of wild animals. Those
who survived these and the cold conditions, cleared the
forests and transfomed Wayanad into a paradise of prosperity.
Total number of workers in the district is 2,27,453. Out
of them 53,773 are females. There are 40,729 cultivators
of which the male numbers 36,063 and females 4,666. Total
number of labourers are 74,813 of which 26,907 are females.
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Marketing
of Agriculture Produce
The marketing of coffee was fully regulated by the Coffee
Board till 1992 and the entire coffee grown in the district
had to be pooled to the Board.But in the Coffee Policy of
1995 - 96 , the Government exempted small scale growers possessing
land less than 10 hectares from the obligation of pooling.Those
growers with more than 10 hectares of coffee plantation were
obliged to provide 60 percent of their produces to the Coffee
Board.But Government of India recently announced the abolition
of the pooling system for coffee altogether from 14th September
1996 and coffee growers are now free to market either in the
domestic market or export.
Pepper
is marketed mainly as dired berries. The different agencies
engaged in the marketing of the produce are hill produce merchants
, marketing socities, commission agents and exporters.Being
an export oriented commodity, pepper prices show frequent
fluctuations depending on the international prices prevailing
for the commodity from timt to time.Ginger is mainly marketed
as green ginger.Cardamom is sold at auction centres.The traders
are licensed by the Spices Board and they participate in the
different marketing centers for auction.Rubber is a controled
commodityand is mainly marketed in the form of smoked rubber
sheets.A large number of private dealers as well as the primary
rubber marketing societies under the Rubber Marketing Federation
, operate at the village level for the purchase and sale of
commodity. |
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The Green Paradise
