30/08/2025
He once knew hunger. Today, he grows hope.
In Pulamanthole, Kerala, 58-year-old C. Sasidharan, a Class 10 dropout, turned empty plates into a lifelong mission. After years of struggle, he gifted the world a new rice variety called Gopika, named after his daughter.
Hunger was his past, but so was perseverance. While many farmers gave up, Sasidharan stayed with the soil. He tilled leased land, faced failed crops and losses, yet returned to the fields every dawn.
In 2002, he began an experiment that changed his life: creating a new rice variety. Mixing lessons from farmer training with traditional wisdom, he sowed, resowed, and refined batch after batch.
For eight years, he battled pests, erratic rains, and doubts from others. His patience finally bore fruit.
What emerged was no ordinary grain. It was a matta rice—darker, tastier, and stronger. Each stalk held nearly 210 grains, compared to the usual 140. With a 120-day cycle, it allowed three harvests a year. He named it Gopika as a tribute of love and legacy.
In 2025, Gopika was officially registered in India’s Plant Varieties Registry, with Sasidharan recognised as its true breeder—a rare milestone for an independent farmer. Today, it grows across Kerala, feeding countless families.
Yet his routine has not changed. At dawn, he still walks his seven acres, checks the water, watches for pests, and experiments with new crops. His daughter, once a civil engineering student, has now joined him in agriculture to carry forward his mission.
“I have seen hunger. When you’ve known hunger and poverty, you’ll do whatever it takes to make food,” Sasidharan told Onmanorama.
[Kerala, success story, Gopika rice variety, innovation, C Sasidharan]