A 75-year-old Wayanad farmer’s innovation journey

Alanchery Balakrishnan, an innovative farmer, with his newly developed ‘916’ turmeric at his plantation in Kammana in Wayanad.
| Photo Credit: By special arrangement

Alanchery Balakrishnan, a veteran farmer from Kammana in Wayanad, has achieved another feather in his cap with an innovative turmeric variety. The farmer was recently granted a patent for this newly developed turmeric variety called ‘916’ from the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority under the Government of India.

Mr. Balakrishnan have earlier made notable achievements in pepper cultivation too, with developing and patenting different variants, including Ashwathi and Suvarna varieties.

The 75-year-old farmer chose to follow his passion for farming after completing his SSLC and decades later, he is cultivating not only crops but also a legacy of achievements in the agricultural sector.

Mr. Balakrishnan found the mother plant of 916 turmeric rhizome accidentally around 10 years ago. While tending to his garden, the farmer noticed that one specific type of turmeric yielded not only a higher quantity but also had a more vibrant golden hue compared to its counterparts. According to Mr. Balakrishnan, he let the flowers of the plant bloom and got nearly 30 seeds from the mother plant. He later sowed them, and almost all the seeds germinated. Mr. Balakrishnan’s experimentation bore fruit as he was able to harvest over a kilogramme of rhizomes from just one plant with the same characteristics as the mother plant.

With the name 916 attached to his turmeric, Mr. Balakrishnan sought formal recognition for his creation from the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority. His journey for acknowledgement was a long seven-year quest that culminated in the award of a 15-year patent for the turmeric variety. “This recognition is a great inspiration for me,” Mr. Balakrishnan told The Hindu.

The farmer is currently awaiting a patent for his latest creation, ‘Preethi’ pepper variety. He is also actively preserving 12 native varieties of Wayanad pepper, including Karimkotta, Valenkotta, and Kalluvalankotta, among others.

Mr. Balakrishnan was bestowed with the Farmer Scientist Award from Kerala Agricultural University in 2008, followed by the National Agricultural Award from the National Innovation Foundation in 2009. In 2023, he was also honoured by the State Biodiversity Board for his efforts in plant conservation.