Karnataka - Bidar   

This `doctor' has brought them prosperity

Rishikesh Bahadur Desai

BUMPER CROP: Anand Reddy Pujari (left) with the high yielding papaya crop in Humnabad.

BIDAR: The other day Shankarappa Biradar of Kheni Ranjol in Humnabad was busy since morning. The "doctor," Anand Reddy Pujari, had come to vaccinate his "children," the two-week-old sunflower saplings. Mr. Pujari is a graduate in agricultural sciences.

Mr. Pujari is a doctor on call for farmers in and around Humnabad. He runs an agri-clinic in the town. He maintains a list of farmers and visits their fields at least once a week. He has enrolled over 200 farmers so far. He also attends to cases of pest attack and other problems.

He provides free consultancy on growing crops. He not only gives information to farmers but also supervises their work at every stage. He advises them on fighting pests, insects and weeds, the use of fertilizers, advantages of agricultural implements and the need for irrigation. He also owns a shop that sells fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides in Humnabad and collects money for the farm inputs he provides to growers.

Mr. Biradar has profited from Mr. Pujari's advice. His association with Mr. Pujari, a graduate in agricultural sciences, has changed his idea about farming and helped him adopt modern practices. Since last year, he has cultivated multiple crops in his ten-acre land. He has adopted sprinkler irrigation.

"I have grown foodgrains, sunflower and soya bean in one year. I have also grown fodder for cattle and vegetables," he said.

Bheemrao Patil of Humnabad who got a bumper papaya crop thanks to the guidance of Mr. Pujari expresses similar feelings. Mr. Pujari has also been benefited. Some time ago he had taken a Rs. 2-lakh loan from NABARD, and now he has applied for a fresh loan. "An agri-clinic is similar to a dispensary. I am happy that I have been able to translate into action what I learnt in college and I am also making profits," he says.

Promoting agri-clinics is part of the effort at introducing private initiative in agriculture extension, according to NABARD Assistant General Manager, H.N. Ranganath Rao, said. This ensures that farmers get consultancy 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Agri-clinics help in promoting a new culture of farming. It also facilitates diversification of crops and makes horticultural crops popular among farmers. Some agri-clinics specialise in organic farming. There are eight agri-clinics and a private veterinary clinic in the district. The Krishna Grameena Bank has financed five of them and the State Bank of India, State Bank of Hyderabad and the District Central Cooperative Bank one each, he says. "We plan to set up at least 10 agri-clinics a year. This way, the scheme will also address the problem of unemployment among agriculture and veterinary graduates," Mr. Rao pointed out.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

This `doctor' has brought them prosperity
`Congress cannot be blamed for confusion in JD(S)'
Reject application to start medical college, Centre told
Solve problems of evacuees, Government told

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu