The Indian agriculure - Whats new
I got married into a very conservative family which hails from one of the villages on the banks of Cauvery. Our family had good land holdings which they were cultivating on their own + giving it for lease to people. Over the years, I have seen that somehow or other, we have been only loosing our money and it is not that much profitable. Our family has been growing Sugarcane, banana and Paddy. Each one had its own story about profitability. Even today India weather spins the fortune wheel so your can have a fortune or deep loss. The cost of cultivation has been going up, but the remuneration for the land owners is not that every attractive in this traditional method though nowadays I see a lot of machinery being used in cutting, thrashing, etc in the village sides.
So anything that brings a profit for the farmers always used to be hearting for me, so when I got this link, I wanted to share it with my readers so that the word can spread as much as possible. If only, every farmer in India, takes his or her cue we will have a very robust economy in villages where it matters most.
Precision Farming
SCIENTISTS AT the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, have developed a technology called precision farming, said to be a first of its kind in India.The technology is being presently implemented in several major areas of Tamil Nadu. At present precision technology is implemented in about 200 hectares in Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu. More than 100 farmers have been benefited by this project. Under this farming concept, the University gives technical advice to farmers on soil and water conditions, weather mapping, forewarning of pest attacks and also supplies water soluble fertilizers to be applied along with drip irrigation.
Mr. P.M. Chinnasamy, is one such beneficiary farmer in Dharmapuri, who has harvested about 135 tonnes of tomato from his one hectare field in nine months using this technology.The yield is almost triple that of the farmers growing tomato under the conventional system of planting.The first harvest was done on the 65th day after planting. The fruits were uniform in size and the skin colour was deep red. The fruits were sold at the rate of Rs.10-20 per kg. Mr. Chinnasamy, has earned a net income of about Rs. 5 lakhs from tomato cultivation in nine months.
The next news item is:
Mr. C. Boopathy, a farmer of the precision farming technology (PFT) in Morappur village of Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu has grown musk melon in his one hectare farm.
“I had spent about Rs. 90,000 as cultivation cost and was able to get a gross income of Rs. 3,60,000. Deducting the expense I have earned a net profit of Rs. 2,70,000 solely from musk melon,” he says.I was able to harvest two fruits from a single vine he said. Each fruit weighed 1.25 - 1.5 kg. About 45 tonnes of fruit was harvested from a hectare and sold at Rs. 5 to 12 a kg,” said Mr. Boopathy.Though it is mainly a summer crop it is now being cultivated throughout the year in Tamil Nadu.
Thank you Scientist at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University for all the innovation and taking the concept to the field - The lab to field Success is very very heartening.
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