Package to help farmers take up kuruvai cultivation

State allots ₹68 lakh under the package for the district

Collector K.Rajamani having a feel of the mechanised transplantation under the kuruvai package at Appathurai in Tiruchi district on Tuesday.

With the Agriculture Department implementing the kuruvai package for supporting farmers taking up kuruvai paddy cultivation in filter point areas in the delta region of the district, Collector K.Rajamani on Tuesday inspected the mechanical transplantation under the package at Appathurai village near Lalgudi.

Mr.Rajamani also distributed inputs such as blackgram seeds, liquid bio-fertilizers, micro nutrient mixture to the farmers. Speaking on the occasion, Mr.Rajamani said farmers would get assistance for raising kuruvai crop in about 800 acres in the delta areas. The State government has allotted ₹68 lakh under the package for the district.

Financial assistance of ₹4000 an acre would be provided to farmers who opted for mechanical transplantation. Liquid bio-fertilizer worth ₹120, zinc sulphate worth ₹400 and micro nutrient mixture worth ₹200 an acre would be provided free of cost to the beneficiaries under the package.

He distributed inputs worth ₹1.40 lakh to farmers on the occasion and inspected the mechanised planting taken up in the field of Dharmalingam, a beneficiary, and the mat nursery raised in the field of Rajkumar, another beneficiary at Appathurai.

Mr.Rajamani also disclosed that compensation under crop insurance to the tune of ₹20 crore has been sanctioned for the district and the money would be credited to the farmers’ accounts within a few days. He said that the Rural Development Department and the Public Works Department would explore the feasibility of building check dams, wherever possible, to conserve water.

Joint Director of Agriculture Uduman Mohideen urged the farmers to go in for alternative crops such as pulses in areas where kuruvai paddy cultivation was not feasible.

Seeds and fertilizers would be given free of cost to take up pulses cultivation, he said.

Pipes would also be provided at a subsidy of ₹21,000 an acre and ₹500 for summer ploughing, said Prasad, Executive Engineer, Agricultural Engineering Department.

A field demonstration and interactive sessions were organised at the village.