ADILABAD: The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), for the first time in Adilabad district, will take up front line demonstration (FLD) for poor cotton farmers. The initiative incorporates grant of Rs. 1,500 for each beneficiary farmer family in the shape of inputs and dissemination of knowledge on farming methods. The programme will be launched in the last of June in the four villages of Souna and Bandra in Kubeer mandal, Limba in Kuntala and Manjeri in Bhainsa. Fifty poor farmers in each of these villages will become beneficiaries of this initiative.

Women and Scheduled Caste farmers, who have a proper title to the land, will be given priority in the scheme of things.

CCI's Adilabad Branch Manager S.K. Chaturvedi says the FLD is being taken up as social objective of the Corporation.

The Corporation has enlisted the support of Agriculture Department officials in selection of villages and beneficiaries besides that of agriculture scientists who will impart awareness on judicious use of fertilisers and pesticides to the farmers. This will be done by conducting three periodical meetings of officials, scientists and local public representative like the sarpanch, he added.

Objective

The programmes falls under the Technology Mission Cotton's mini mission II. "The social objective is to be achieved by facilitating poor farmers to improve yields in their farms ," Mr. Chaturvedi says. The CCI will also play a supervisory role by conducting visits to the fields of beneficiary farmers. Supervising growth of the cotton plant will be the main objective.

Inputs will be purchased from Hyderabad Agriculture Cooperative Society (HACA) and the Adilabad Diatrict Cooerative Marketing Society (DCMS). Already orders have been placed with these agencies. Over the next few years, the number of villages and farmer beneficiaries will be increased.

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