DHENKANAL: Deputy Director of Agriculture, district unit, has decided to launch ‘line transplantation’ in two blocks here on joint cost share basis with the farmers.
To be implemented in 1,000 hectares each in Gondia and Kamakshyanagar blocks under the banner of Bridging Green Revolution in Eastern India, it aims at increasing productivity.
The method will focus on sowing saplings in rows with proper exposure to sunlight and uniform distribution of fertilisers and pesticides. It also includes inter-cropping after proper soil testing.
While the State Government will invest around
` 20,000 per hectare, the farmers have to contribute 20 to 30 per cent of the total cost. The entire harvest will be shared by farmers involved in the cultivation.
Gondia and Kamakshyanagar blocks have been picked on an experimental basis since the farmers here concentrate on paddy and vegetable cultivation with water drawn from rivers for irrigation purpose.
The proposed method of cultivation will encourage precision farming practices and increase efficiency in water management.
There will be site-specific intervention and on-the-spot monitoring which will help bridge the knowledge gap on farming practices, said Laxmidhar Behera, Deputy Director of Agriculture.
About 5,000 farmers will be involved in the project and reap the benefits, he added.
The farmers of the district have stuck to traditional farming and largely depend on micro-finance and hand loans. Under these circumstances, crop loss often leaves them high and dry. The worst sufferers are the share-cropper who take up cultivation without soil testing.
Last year, agriculture officials included sunflower and watermelon, both cash crops, under ‘scale of finance’ which now allows thousands of farmers to borrow from commercial banks and cooperative units. This followed numerous media reports citing the production potential of the two crops in the district.