KARAIKAL: By cultivating millets in two acres of farmland, a farmer from Karaikal has set an example, said officials from the agriculture department, who also remarked that it was the first time a farmer in the district had cultivated millets in more than an acre. DN Suresh (45) of Nedungadu in Karaikal district took the initiative and sowed pearl millet (cumbu) on two acres of his farmland in Agalangan village near Thirunallar on Wednesday.
"I used to cultivate paddy previously. I am starting to cultivate millets to do my part to contribute towards food security and nutrition as part of the International Year of Millets. I hope that other farmers will follow suit and begin cultivating this in more areas in the district," he said.
Suresh bought five kg each of CO-9 and CO-10 varieties of pearl millet seeds from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and sowed them in one acre each. He plans to use multiple sources like groundwater, rain and river irrigation to irrigate the land.
Puducherry agriculture department officials P Allan and M Govindasamy and other local farmers were present for the sowing. Agriculture officer P Allan said, "Millets are easy to cultivate. They consume less water compared to other crops, and fare ever better when transplanted."
According to the Puducherry agriculture department, farmers in Karaikal predominantly cultivate paddy and cotton in around 5,000 hectares. While there have been smaller attempts at cultivating finger millets, also known as Ragi (Kaezhvaragu) in a few cents of land earlier, Suresh's initiative is the first on a marketable scale in the district. J Senthilkumar, joint director of agriculture in Karaikal said,
"The motivation to cultivate needs to grow further. We will support farmers who take initiatives by providing guidance and incentives from the government." According to experts from PAJANCOA &RI in Karaikal district, millets would assist in augmenting sustainability and mitigating the impact of climate change, improve the livelihood of the farming community and increase healthy food consumption.