The Virudhunagar district administration has tied up with TAFE’s J Farm Services, for rent-free farm equipment for small and marginal farmers to take up various farming activities.
The Joint Director (Agriculture) in-charge, Sankar S. Narayanan, said that though the majority of the paddy harvesting activity is over in the district, the demand would be high for ploughing the land to prepare it for summer cultivation.
He said that J Farm Services have come forward to provide the rent-free farm equipment for 90 days from April 1. All that the farmers need to do is to down load Uzhavan App on their mobile phones and register for the machinery to be used in their farms. They can also register by calling the toll-free number of J Farm Services 1800-420-0100.
The farmers need to mention the equipment required and the date and time. “The machinery would be provided on seniority basis without any rent,” Mr. Narayanan said.
He said that for two sets of ploughing to be done, farmers would otherwise need to spend around ₹2,000, and as this comes free of cost for them and it would be of great help during the lockdown period.
Farmers holding land up to 4 acres could benefit under the scheme.
Mr. Narayanan said that around 1000 ha of farm land in the district could be brought under pulses and millets cultivation. “We expect maximum coverage of pulses and millets this summer as widespread rainfall has been reported in the district in the last two days,” he said.
Rainfall recorded
Sattur, Tiruchuli, Kariyapttti and Kovilankulam have registered good rainfall of 16 mm, 18 mm, 23.40 mm and 31.20 mm respectively on Saturday and Aruppukottai (17 mm), Sattur (16.40 mm) received rainfall on Sunday.
The millets are also grown in Rajapalayam, Srivilliputtur and Watrap regions.
J Farm Services have identified people owning tractors in various parts of the district and would tie up with them to provide their equipment for those requiring it for ploughing. The rental for the vehicle would be paid by J Farm Services to the tractor owners.
