KRISHNAGIRI: As many as 68 panchayats in the Krishnagiri district have been identified for the implementation of the Kalaignar All Village Integrated Agriculture Development Project (KAVI ADP). Under the project, a model panchayat will be created in each block of the district and various schemes will be implemented there for the development of farmers.
M Rajendran, Joint Director of Agriculture, told TNIE, "There are over 13 line departments including agriculture, horticulture, agricultural engineering, animal husbandry, sericulture, fisheries, electricity board, rural development, forest department, public works, cooperation, seed certification and others involved in the project. They will jointly implement the schemes in the selected panchayats."
Across the State, 2,500 village panchayats have been identified for the project. Of which, 68 are from the Krishnagiri district. Among the 10 blocks in the Krishnagiri district, the project will be implemented in six panchayats each in Krishnagiri and Kaveripattinam blocks, and seven panchayats each in the other eight blocks, Rajendran said.
"For the first year, the project will be implemented in 68 panchayats in the district and the number will increase every year. By the end of five years, all 333 panchayats in the district would have been covered under the project. This will benefit many farmers by taking to them various agriculture-related schemes," he said.
Implementation of the project
In the 68 selected panchayats, 100 clusters will be formed with each panchayat having one or two clusters. A cluster will have a minimum of eight farmers as its members. Two types of clusters will be formed -- one with farmers who cumulatively own 5-10 acres of land and another with those who cumulatively own 10-35 acres.
The Joint Director said the said line departments would reach the clusters and explain to them about various schemes offered by them. For instance, if a cluster suffers from water scarcity and needs borewells for agricultural activities, the agriculture engineering department will dig a new borewell for them.
Quality and certified seeds and drip irrigation will also be provided to the farmers in the cluster. Apart from this, the farmers can avail of various other schemes. The development of the farmers in that particular region will be a role model for other farmers, and subsequently, more farmers will get to know about the various schemes offered and benefit from them.