Kochi: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday announced a seed farm in Aluva at Kochi as India's first carbon-neutral farm.

The 102-year-old farm is located on Thuruth Island in the Periyar River and has been an organic seed farm since 2012. It has since been taking steps to cut its carbon emissions, and this decade of endeavours has resulted in it achieving carbon neutrality. 

"Kerala needs to be raised to food self-sufficiency. Still, the ecological balance should be kept up. Climate change can be tackled by cutting carbon emissions from agriculture. Exemplary interventions have been done on this farm," Vijayan said.

"Carbon-neutral farms will be commenced in all assembly constituencies. Women's associations will be formulated to implement this in tribal areas," the chief minister added.

"The government is promoting the installation of solar panels in homes. There will be an environmental budget for 2023. This document will contain the ecological costs and the budget," the CM said.

Research were underway since August this year to assess its carbon footprint. Officials from the Kerala Agricultural University College of Climate Change and Environmental Science mentioned that the farm had 43 tonnes of carbon emissions and 213 tonnes of carbon storage.

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