The Horticulture Department will offer subsidy for farmers to introduce drip and sprinkler irrigation systems for horticulture crops on up to five hectares (ha) of land in a bid to conserve water as well as to improve the yield.
While 90 per cent subsidy will be offered up to two ha, 50 per cent subsidy will be offered to the next three ha to all farmers in the district, said an official release.
The subsidy would be provided to horticulture crops except coffee, tea and rubber. Fertigation, the process through which fertilizer is mixed in water before being dispensed to plants, was compulsory and part of the drip irrigation system, the department said. It said the fertigation would ensure availability of nutrients to plants without any wastage. It would also save expenditure on fertilizer by 20 to 40 per cent, and the cost on labour and electricity.
Apart from fertilizer, light nutrients as well as plant protective chemicals too could be dispensed directly to the plants through fertigation, the release said.
The horticulture plot for which subsidy is sought should be in the name of the farmer. In the event of joint-holding, the applicant should produce a no-objection certificate from co-owners. Those interested may approach the senior assistant director of the department in their respective taluks, the release added.
