Scheme to promote green manure for improving soil health draws good response in Tiruchi, say officials

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The State government’s initiative to help farmers improve soil health through the use of green manure under the ‘Chief Minister’s Mannuyir Kaathu Mannuyir Kaappom’ scheme (CMMKMKS) has drawn a positive response from farmers in Tiruchi, according to Agriculture Department officials.

Under the scheme, launched by Chief Minister M.K.Stalin last year, green manure (dhaincha) seeds are distributed at subsidised rates to farmers. In Tiruchi district, about 150 metric tonnes of dhaincha seeds were distributed to cover about 7,500 acres last year with a subsidy of ₹50 a kg. A similar quantum has been targeted for distribution this year too, with an increased subsidy of ₹62.50 a kg. Each beneficiary farmer is given 20 kg of the seeds for an acre.

Sources in the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare here say there has been an increased awareness among farmers of the use of green manure to improve soil fertility. There has been a good demand for the seeds and 42 metric tonnes have been distributed so far through Agricultural Extension Centres.

Raising green manure before paddy cultivation has increased due to the implementation of the CMMKMKS. “Dhaincha cultivation helps in nitrogen fixation through root nodules, increases beneficial micro organism activity and reduces the requirement of nitrogenous fertilizers like urea. It also helps reclaiming the alkaline soil. Even though farmers are aware of the benefits, they are reluctant to adopt the practice due to high cost and poor availability of quality green manure seeds,” said a department official.

The government intervention to provide seeds at 50% subsidy under the CMMKMKS has encouraged farmers to raise green manure in large areas in the delta and non-delta regions of Tiruchi district before paddy cultivation, he added.