An innovative scheme -- Integrated Crop Management (ICM) Model Farms -- has been formulated by the Department of Agriculture for implementation in the district.
Under the scheme, the department encourages 876 farmers to develop model farms adopting integrated crop management techniques in a minimum of one-acre land.
The very objective of the model farms is to economically empower small and marginal farmers by raising profit-making crops.
A practising literate progressive farmer will be identified in every panchayat for giving guidance to the targeted group of farmers. The area of a model farm is one acre of agriculture land. Integrated crop management practices will have to be adopted by farmers under the supervision of mandal agriculture officer and agriculture extension officer.
Assistance
The government provides each farmer an assistance of Rs.2,000 for procuring key inputs for ICM practices including green manure seed, seed treatment with bio-fungicides, traps and lures, seed for inter-crop and zinc sulphate etc.
The model farmers should apply the fertilizers including micro-nutrients based on soil test reports.
Agriculture Joint Director K.Venugopala Rao has told The Hindu that 818 paddy model farms, 12 bajra and sugarcane farms of each variety, seven maize farms, 19 ragi, one red gram, and seven groundnut farms will be developed.
In all 876 model farms will be established in the current khariff season.
A state-level workshop of master trainers was recently organised in Hyderabad to train the model farmers in different aspects of crop management. Soil samples from all model farm areas in the district had been collected and sent to the soil testing laboratories and their soil quality analysed.
The Farmers Training Centre in Anakapalle is finalising the interventions to be adopted for different crops.
