The Hindu : Front Page : Nod for agri clinics in Pudukottai

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Sunday, Jun 14, 2009
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Nod for agri clinics in Pudukottai

Staff Reporter

— Photo: R. Ashok.

BOON: M. Pazhanivelu, Joint Registrar of Co-operatives, inspecting soil nutrients at the agri clinic at Malaikudipatti.

PUDUKOTTAI: With a view to assisting farmers in analysing deficiency in soil nutrients and guiding them through remedial measures, the Cooperation and Agriculture departments will start agri clinics-cum-soil testing laboratories at 13 select villages in the district.

Five units will be run by the Cooperation Department while the balance eight started by the Agriculture Department at an expenditure of Rs.6 lakh each, with a subsidy of Rs.3 lakh sanctioned under the National Agriculture Development Programme.

The Tamil Nadu State Cooperative Bank will release Rs.3 lakh under the Primary Cooperative Development Fund for setting up these units. Each laboratory will be manned by a consultant who will visit fields for collecting samples and conduct the tests. The Agriculture Department permits individuals, including retired personnel, with expertise in agriculture capable of investing Rs.3 lakh for setting up the unit.

The first laboratory on the co-operative front was inaugurated on the campus of the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Society at Malaikudipatti near Viralimalai on Friday. Speaking after declaring open the laboratory, the Joint Registrar of Co-operatives, M. Pazhanivelu, said that the full-fledged laboratory would be a saviour for the farmers of Malaikudipatti where agricultural fields account for a high degree of alkalinity. Exposure visits for farmers would be another feature of the laboratory. Similar units would be set up at Keeranur, Gandarvakottai, Kottaipattinam and Kuzhipirai. The Joint Director of Agriculture Siva. Chellappa, who gave away the soil-test certificates to the farmers, said that the Department had already started one laboratory in Pudukottai. Efforts would also be taken to recommend specific varieties of crops suited for local soil conditions.

The officials appealed to farmers to take maximum advantage of precision farming and System of Rice Intensification programmes for stepping up agricultural productivity. In his feed-back, a farmer, S. Andappan, said the soil samples were tested at his fields decades ago. He had been incurring a heavy financial loss due to crop failure and pest attack.

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