Only when youngsters take up farming and adopt new technologies, will there be a future for the nation said a farmer Vasanth Velusamy who is on a 10,000 km cycle expedition along with his friend Vidya Shekar, a B.Tech graduate. The attitude of the farmers should change to favour multi-cropping, he adds.
By using latest technologies, farmers can earn more than Rs. 2 lakh per month, he said The duo reached the city as part of their tour-Bharath Parikrama-to promote farming. They have covered 2,300 km. starting from Udumalpet and passing through Puducherry, Chennai, Cochin, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kanyakumari, Rameswaram, Nellore, Ongole, Guntur, Vijayawada, Eluru, Rajahmundry, Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam.
Elaborating on the trip, Mr. Velusamy an MBA graduate said, “Our expedition involves focusing on three groups - youngsters, elderly people who are basically from their villages settled in the cities and women who are reluctant to marry farmers. We visit schools and colleges, encourage youngsters to take up farming as a career.
We request the elderly who possess immense knowledge of farming to return to their villages and guide existing farmers. Finally, we are trying to convince women to come forward to marry farmers.” Lamenting on the increasing number of farmers resorting to suicide, he said this can be brought down if the attitude of the farmer can be changed.
The team also plans to document farming practices like rubber extraction, salt production, cultivation of cashews and other crops.
Further details on farming activities and related information can be had on www.welovefarming.org. With the right objective, Bharath Parikrama will be heading towards Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Srinagar and other places.
