Cicil Chandran J.C.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The way everything has turned out, no one would blame Cicil Chandran J.C. for having dropped his job at Milma 30 years ago to become a farmer.Mr. Cicil Chandran, who won the 2024 State Farm Award for the best hi-tech farmer on Wednesday, describes farming as a highly rewarding profession if it is undertaken as a full-time pursuit.Having engaged in integrated farming in a big way at Plamoottukada in Thiruvananthapuram district, the 61-year-old farmer runs a fully-automated high-tech farm where he cultivates capsicum, salad cucumber, bitter gourd, lady’s finger, cabbage, broccoli and beetroot. Farming runs in the family, and Cicil Chandran is continuing the tradition today with his family.“I took up hi-tech farming in 2010-11. Polyhouse farming has transformed my life,” he says. Here, all aspects of the farming are automated, right from the light, humidity, temperature, air circulation and drip irrigation, he says.The polyfarm, one acre of land, forms just one part of Mr. Cicil Chandran’s farming pursuits on his own land and land taken on lease. They span open-field farming which include paddy, banana and vegetables. In addition to these, he also keeps livestock, and is into pisciculture and the cultivation of fodder grass. “I also have soil-less farming on 15 cents of land,” he said.His wife Sobhanalatha and daughter Annie also help him with the management of the farm. Published - August 13, 2025 07:40 pm IST
