Speakers at a function to honour farmers on the occasion of ‘Pongal’ festival, organised under the auspices of Thilagavathiar Tiruvarul Peravai on Saturday, hailed farmers for contributing to the country’s overall growth. They glorified the hard work of farmers and farm labourers for producing food.
K.T. Rajagopal, former District Revenue Officer, and P. Annamalai, auditor, voiced concern over conversion of agricultural land into real estate for marketing housing lay-outs. Although industrial growth was a welcome measure, it should not be at the cost of agricultural productivity, he said.
S. Subbiah, a physician, and S. Ramadoss, founder of Ponmari Group of Educational Institutions, spoke on the efforts taken by farming community in producing food. Crop protection strategy has to deal with a wide range of challenges.
ADVERTISEMENT
R. Vairavan, president of Chenduran group of educational institutions, said the annual function was a token of gratitude to farmers.
Dayananda Chandrasekaran, pontiff of the Peravai, said the farmers were selected at random during a tour of villages. Those working in the fields under scorching sun were identified for the honour. So far, about 220 farmers including 60 women have been honoured in the eight festivals including the current year celebrations.