Tamil Nadu - Tuticorin   

Take up precision farming, ryots told

Beneficial: Horticulture officials inspecting a fertigation tank in Ottappidaram block.

Tuticorin: Farmers were being motivated to take up precision farming under National Agricultural Development Agency (NADP), said the Deputy Director of Horticulture, S. Joseph Karunanidhi.

With a view to achieve the goal of reducing the yield gaps in important crops through focused interventions and maximise returns to the farmers, NADP was being implemented.

Tuticorin district had been earmarked to cover an area of 200 hectares in crops like hybrid vegetables and high yielding banana varieties under precision farming with a financial allocation of Rs. 22.40 lakh at the subsidized rate of Rs. 11, 200 per hectare, he added.

Mr. Joseph Karunanidhi along with a team of M. Kanangaraj, Assistant Director of Horticulture, Ottappidaram block, J. Zahir Hussain, Assistant General Manager, Tamil Nadu Horticulture Development Agency, Chennai, inspected the banana field which was established under precision farming at Pudiyamputhur village in Ottappidaram block.

He said Ottapidaram block, receiving an average annual rainfall of 620 mm per year, with an area of 20 hectares was brought under NADP on cluster approach basis.

The Ottapidaram block with prosophis species, thorny tree, spread over around 500 hectares, was gradually being converted into productive lands under the NADP.

Amidst these wastelands with thorny bushes, the cluster had been successfully converted into productive lands, he added.

“Through these farming techniques, I am able to save Rs. 15, 000 per acre by way of fertigation process. Previously my banana field was being flood irrigated incurring more expenditure. I am used to invest more on weeding also. But all of the expenses were curtailed under this precision farming techniques” said P. Paulraj, a farmer of Pudhiyamputhur, who had cultivated one hectare of banana varieties like poovan (kadali), monthan (nadu) under NADP.

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