SHIMOGA: Women and Youth Training Extension Programme (WYTEP) has been quite useful in extending technical information to farm women about agriculture and allied sectors, and making them self-reliant, Additional Director of Agriculture (Human Resources Development) H.D. Sheshagiri has said.

He was inaugurating a two-day State-level conference of farm women of southern districts organised by Agriculture Department on Tuesday.

The Government has earmarked Rs. 7.26 crores for implementation of the programme during 2005-2006, he said.

Benefits

Mr. Sheshagiri said that farm women should avail themselves of the benefits being extended under the programme by forming federations.

It is significant to note that Indian farming depends heavily on women as nearly 80 per cent of farm work is being done by them, he said.

Dr. Sheshagiri said the programme, which was implemented in 1982 with Danish assistance, aimed at highlighting the importance of modern farm technology in agriculture and allied activities and facilitating their implementation at the field level.

The programme has already been implemented in two stages from 1982 to 2000.

Assessment of the programme at the end of the second phase revealed that its implementation was restricted to a few villages, he said.

Implementation in taluks

Dr. Sheshagiri said it has been decided to implement the programme simultaneously in all taluks during the third phase by incorporating into it the general farm extension programme.

Agro enterprises programme has been given priority under the programme to extend more help to self-help groups of farm women by increasing the revolving fund created for them.

Farm women from 15 districts are attending the conference.

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