To encourage organic farming, the Agriculture Department has a target to set up 100 vericompost units in each gram panchayat in Kalaburagi district under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).
Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat Anirudh Shravan, after visiting the district agriculture training centre on the outskirts of Kalaburagi city on Friday, said training on producing vermicompost using various wastes would be conducted at the centre. Self-help groups would be roped in to create awareness on vermicompost and sell it to farmers at a low price in villages, he added.
Mr. Shravan said the district agriculture training centre has chalked out various agricultural activities to boost the farming sector by imparting new technologies to make agriculture more viable and profitable.
Joint Director of Agriculture Department Mohammad Jilani Mokashi said the training programme would include new methods in cultivation of horticulture crops, and organic farming for optimum utilisation of land, which will ultimately result in inclusive development of the farming sector.
Mr. Mokashi said around 5,000 farmers selected across the district have been trained at the centre, and they would in turn train the farmers in their villages.
The 55 acres of land available at the training centre has been utilised to experiment multi-cropping methods.
To increase fodder production in the district, the centre has grown fodder grass on 45 acres of land at the agriculture training centre. Apart from horticulture, the farmers are also trained in vermicomposting methods using cow dung and goat farming.
Mr. Mokashi said that the Hyderabad Karnataka Regional Development Board (HKRDB) has allocated funds of Rs. 35 lakh to draw a pipeline in 45 acres of land and for the construction of poly house and shade nets on 20 guntas of land.
Agriculture Department has targeted setting up 100 vericompost units in each gram panchayat of Kalaburagi district
