paddy cultivation in this area. In 1971, the Kuttanad Enquiry Commission after comparing the various aspects of paddy farming in Palakkad and Thrissur with Kuttanad, had recommended the construction of permanent ring bunds and engine floors, mechanization of certain farming operations, aerial spraying of insecticides, setting up of the mobile soil testing laboratories, registration of agricultural labourers and the formation of Kuttanad Development Authority for the betterment of paddy cultivation in this region In the year 1978, the Indian Institute for Regional Development Studies, Kottayam conducted a detailed survey in Kuttanad. In its report it recommended the control of the prices of agricultural inputs like seeds, pesticides and chemical fertilizers 49 . The study also suggested the introduction of pest resistant seeds, prawn farming in selected fields and enforcement of minimum wages and employment to
