JOIN USTwo people have converted a quarry site into farmland by filling it with soil and applying manure, at Thannirupantha near Uppinangady.
Hard work and love for farming has helped them to script a success story. They have planted arecanut saplings and paddy on the land that was considered waste all these years.
Yakub, along with his friend Adam Al Madeena, of Bangerkatte in Ujirbettu of Thannirpantha, has converted 1.74 acre of laterite stone-filled land into fertile land for farming.
After removing laterite stone, a huge pit was created on the said land and was considered as dangerous during the monsoon as the water remained stagnant.
"I had come across children falling into quarry pits at several places in the district. Hence, I decided to use the site for a productive purpose. I removed all the laterite stones from the site and decided to use it for farming," said Yakub.
In the 1.74 acre land, half-acre will be used for paddy cultivation. About 450 arecanut saplings have been planted on the remaining land. He has readied a few more arecanut plants for planting.
Yakub has also tilled the land using a pair of buffaloes, to take up paddy cultivation.
Explaining the process of converting wasteland into farmland, Yakub and Adam said, "We had sought the guidance of the agriculture department. The officials, in turn, asked us to remove the few layers of laterite stones and later use the land for farming. Later, we sought permission from the mines department to remove the stones. The officials visited the spot and allowed the removal of stones. We paid a royalty to the government as per the government guidelines and removed the stones. Later, we levelled the land by filling it with soil."