Natural Farming Crusader Kanniappan, Kulai, Johor

Bountiful harvest : Lime has grown double the size of the original batch 

of lime following the application of compostandnatural growth promoters

Kanniappan Thiruvankodan, of Kulai, Johor, a paid labourer in an oil palm plantation, spent 25 years of his life with a myriad of pesticides and chemical fertilizers to the extent that he knows in detail what pesticide to use for which crop and how harmful it is to one’s health.

When Kanniappan went to Tamil Nadu to learn about organic farming, arranged by the Consumers Association of Penang in 2005, he came back sceptical that such a safe alternative would work. 

But his inquisitive nature prompted him to try out each method he had learned in South India in his own farm and to his astonishment these natural methods not only worked but produced better

yield than conventional farming. His lime fruits, for instance, became double

the size and fetched a better price in the market.

His experience as a union leader in oilpalm plantations and championing workers’ right, naturally transformed him into becoming a proponent of natural farming.

Kanniappan sells natural fertilisers,growth promoters and pest repellents. That is for his income. As part of his mission to spread the goodness of chemicalfree farming, he moves around demonstrating natural farming methods – helping organizations, farmers, single mothers, agriculture department officers, indigenous communities, teachers, students and individuals to set up vermi-compost units and provide advice for novices in natural farming.

Kanniappan explaining methods of making growth promoters using

locally available fruits to enhance plant growth

His compost and composting methods have been used by research students as part of their studies. They found it interesting that he had done his own research by releasing earthworms in different compost material. Kanniappan says he found out that sugarcane husk produces good quality compost. Realizing the expertise of Kanniappan, agriculture department officials have started referring farmers who wish to switch to chemical-free farming to him.

So far, he has helped planters of jasmine, betel leaves and dragon-fruit to eliminate agro chemicals from their farms and has also played a pivotal role in CAP’s endeavors to spread the message of chemical-free farming. Kanniappan’s three acres of oil palm plantation inter cropped with mangosteen trees is something rare, and probably the first of its kind. For, cultivating oil palm without the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers is unheard of in Malaysia. 

But he has proved that it can be done. Also, the use of fish amino acid has increased the flowering in oil palm. His mangosteen trees have started bearing fruits, and the squirrels in the area are enjoying in a share of the fruits of his labour. 

Kanniappan is happy to promote chemical-free farming. It gives him a sense of fulfillment as he knows he has done his part in freeing people around him from the clutches of dangerous chemical pollutants.

About Kaniappan Thiruvankodan

CAP FACEBOOK : shorturl.at/drv13

CAP TAMIL WEBSITE: shorturl.at/cpQZ2