There is one reason for officials of the Department of Agriculture here to be happy. The just concluded paddy harvest season has brought in good results and set a new record when compared with previous seasons.
While farmers solely attributed this to the rise in water storage level in Mullaperiyar reservoir to 142 feet, officials confined to the dissemination in technology, which enabled adoption of better crop cultivation methods, coupled with cost cutting measures, for achieving the new high with ease.
Collector L. Subramanian was instrumental in getting the grievances of farmers redressed.
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The grievance meetings gave an opportunity for the ryots to directly interact with officials and get their points cleared. “Only after the Collector intervened, more DPCs were set up,” Ramanathan, a paddy farmer from Vadipatti, noted.
Officials in the Agriculture Department said that periodic intervention and interaction on the judicious use of water, fertilizers, and the advantages of alternate wetting and drying concepts et al, helped in ensuring high yield.
“In a way, deficit rainfall helps in proper management of water for irrigation than when it is surplus,” said Deputy Director Ravichandran.
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Apart from growing paddy, farmers also evinced interest in raising minor millets, pulses, oilseeds and cotton, which helped in a big way to the tally. Farmers’ interest groups (FIG), which were formed in all the 13 blocks in the district, had given an edge in educating the farmers about the dos and don’ts in the process of cultivation, Paramasivam, an FIG member in Kokkulam village near here, said.
Yet another important aspect was that a majority of the farmers had access to the automatic weather station.
This helped them in getting information on wind speed, wind direction, soil moisture, humidity, air temperature et al.
For instance, depending on the temperature forecast, water for irrigation could be drawn evenly as stagnation or overdose may spoil the crop and affect yield.
Productivity
Adoption of such techniques from the beginning of this season paved way for farmers even in dry pockets like Kalligudi and Sedapatti blocks to get the desired results.
The idea of multi-crop turned out to be successful in Sedapatti block, where those who raised maize produced 10 tonnes/ha.
Similarly, those from Alanganallur block, a fertile region, too had contributed in a big way in achieving the high yield, Mr. Ravichandran added.
Recently, the district had bagged the Krishi Karman Award from the State government and a progressive farmer, Solaimalai, from Madurai West was awarded Rs. 1 lakh for his top production.