Kochi, Mar 13 (PTI) Climate change is seen as a bigger threat than war and it also poses challenges to farmers today, Kerala Agriculture Minister P Prasad has said. Speaking at an event held here on Saturday, he called the weather-based insurance introduced by the Spices Board for small cardamom as an encouraging initiative. Prasad presented Spices Board"s Small Cardamom Productivity Awards and distributed weather-based crop insurance policy to the beneficiaries. "Climate change and global warming are more threatening than war and that"s the biggest challenge for the farmers today. We should be more serious about climate change and the weather-based insurance introduced by the Spices Board for small cardamom is an encouraging initiative in shielding the farmers from such catastrophe," Prasad said. The minister also suggested that the farmers practice and adopt progressive farming methods like carbon neutral agriculture for food safety in cultivation. Prasad distributed the small cardamom productivity awards for the year 2019-20 and 2020-21 as well as the weather-based crop insurance policies, a novel insurance scheme introduced by Spices Board to provide protection for the crop against weather-caused calamities, to small cardamom famers. The function also witnessed felicitation of Jomy Mathew, winner of the IPC award for the best pepper farmer from the country for 2020. A G Thankappan, Chairman of the Spices Board, who presided over the function, expressed concerns over the price and market fluctuations that affect the farmers adversely. He noted that the Board has been striving to support the farmers through all possible means like the new weather based insurance scheme launched on pilot basis in Idukki for small cardamom. "With an aim to make India a premier supplier of cardamom, the Spices Board has been implementing programmes like planting material production through certified nurseries in farms, setting up irrigation facilities, purchasing and installing cardamom dryer, washer, cleaner etc," Thankappan said. Congratulating the award winners, D Sathiyan IFS, the Secretary of Spices Board, said despite the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic and changes in weather conditions, the cardamom growers have made a remarkable progress in production and made considerable contribution to the export of spices. Idukki MP, Dean Kuriakose, Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden, MLA T J Vinod among others participated in the event. The Board constituted the cardamom productivity awards to honour and encourage the progressive cardamom farmers, who have achieved high levels of productivity. A special award is also constituted for the highest productivity in the organic category. Winners are selected from the nominations received by a committee constituted for this purpose. PTI RRT ROH ROH