The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Pudukottai centre gets mobile soil testing unit

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Monday, Apr 28, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Pudukottai centre gets mobile soil testing unit

M. Balaganessin

To help farmers ascertain deficiency in nutrients

PUDUKOTTAI: The Village Resource Centre of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) at Annavasal in the district will take up soil tests to facilitate farmers to and guide them to improve soil fertility and texture.

The MSSRF has sanctioned a mobile soil testing unit with advanced facilities for identifying deficiency in soil. It would camp at villages, with focus on areas where the Centre had started Village Knowledge Centres, said its Project Coordinator R. Rajkumar.

Speaking at a function to mark the inauguration of the Village Knowledge Centre sponsored by the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Programme at Athani, a village about 20 km from Aranthangi, recently, he said that the farmers would be imparted training on collection of samples.

A special feature of the mobile unit was that report on tests would be given to farmers on the spot. Besides the Village Resource Centre in Annavasal, the mobile unit would be utilised by two other similar units functioning at Sembatti in Dindigul district and Tiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur district.

Other programmes

On the immediate programmes to be taken up for the overall development of Athani, Mr. Rajkumar said that the villagers had demanded execution of sanitary management and legal awareness for protecting women’s rights. “We will concentrate on these topics, while our usual agenda of Computer-Aided Learning Programme (CALP) and capacity building for children will be taken up,” he said adding that the focus would be on creating awareness of the role of Village Knowledge Centre in disseminating information.

The Aranthangi Panchayat Union Chairman, Siva. V. Meyyianathan, who inaugurated the Village Knowledge Centre, 12th in the district, appealed to the villagers to take maximum advantage of it. Farmers and villagers would be exposed to the latest advancements in information and communication technology.

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