The Agriculture department, in collaboration with the General Education department, is launching agricultural clubs to inculcate awareness about agriculture and scientific farming practices in the younger generation.The clubs will be known as ‘Kathiru,’ short for ‘Kerala Agriculture Technology Heritage and Innovation for Rural Understanding.’ Initiatives such as horticulture therapy, mini online marketing platforms for vegetables grown by children, and mushroom farming programmes for children will be part of the Kathiru farming clubs. All Kathiru clubs will be registered in the Agricultural Information Management System (AIMS) portal.Environment dayChief Minister V.D. Satheesan will inaugurate the World Environment Day celebrations on June 5 (Friday) on the Secretariat campus by planting fruit trees, Agriculture Minister T. Siddique said here on Wednesday. Mr. Siddique will preside. Ministers, MLAs, students and teachers from five leading schools in Thiruvananthapuram will participate in the event. Mr. Satheesan will honour five student farmers on the occasion. He will also launchthe ‘Onathinorukkaam Vilavinte Vismayam 2026’ campaign for growing vegetables and flowers for the upcoming Onam season.Meanwhile, Agriculture Director Sriram Venkataraman was forced to leave a press conference convened by Mr. Siddique on Wednesday after journalists objected to his presence. Mr. Venkataraman, an IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, is the accused in a 2019 road accident case that claimed the life of journalist K.M. Basheer. Mr. Siddique had convened the press conference at the media room of the Kerala Assembly to announce his department’s plans for the environment day celebrations. Journalists announced that they will leave if Mr. Venkataraman were to stay. Mr. Siddique initially said he will explain after the press conference and was seen gesturing to Mr. Venkataraman to remain in his seat. But as protests mounted, the IAS officer hastily left the dais. The Kerala Union of Working Journalists, in a statement, asked the government to avoid “parading tainted” individuals in future. Published - June 03, 2026 08:01 pm IST