Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has proposed to take up a crop research improvement programme in 10,000 acres in the three upland mandals of West Godavari district. It will adopt the mandals for the purpose.
Joint Director of Agriculture Yalamanchili Sailakshmi on Tuesday said the department had chosen Nallajarla, Dwaraka Tirumala and Unguturu mandals for conducting the programme, which will have its focus on pulses, maize, groundnut and paddy raised in semi-irrigated conditions. ICRISAT is expected to commence research in these areas beginning next kharif.
Farmers from these areas will get technical support from ICRISAT under the programme for upkeep of soil health, checking of pests and weeds and application of fertilisers in their endeavour to ensure better yield.
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Ms. Sailakshmi said ICRISAT would form a strategic coalition for information, communication and capacity building among stakeholders by harnessing Information Technology for drought mitigation in semi-arid tropics and to issue warnings on soil and crop health from time to time.
Barring minor technology-aided interventions such as kisan portals and e-messages through eSeva centres, farmers have so far been dependent on extension services by the Agriculture Department through Agriculture Officers and Agriculture Extension Officers at the mandal level.
With ICRISAT’s intervention, farmers will have access to mapping of soil and crop conditions through remote sensing, thereby bridging knowledge gaps in technology, latest farm practices and markets. Incidentally, farmers have been seeking timely technical advice for improvement of paddy yield which has been hit by devastating pests like blight plant hopper (BPH).
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ICRISAT’s intervention is also warranted in weed control, which pushes up cultivation cost with the involvement of workers at high wages, she said.