Over 1,000 farmers benefit under ATMA activities in Veerapandi block in Salem

A total of 1,234 farmers in the Veerapandi block in the Salem district benefitted from the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) activities in the last seven months.

The ATMA scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme (the Union government shares 60% and the State government 40%). The ATMA activities are fulfilling the needs of training, demonstrations, farmer interest group formation, capacity building, revolving funds, and inter-State and inter-district exposure visits to farmers in the block concerned.

In the Veerapandi block in Salem district, there are 53 villages and the net cultivation area in the block is 5,525.25 hectares. There are total of 7,578 farmers in the Veerapandi block including 6,708 farmers who owns less than 2.50 acres of farm lands each and 870 farmers who owns more than five acres of land each. In the district, the Veerapandi block only has 48 farmers belonging to the Scheduled Castes, which is low compared with the remaining 19 blocks. In the block, millets, including maize, are cultivated in 3,385.30 hectares, pulses in 835.3 hectares, paddy in 244.7 hectares, oil seeds in 841 hectares and sugarcane in 100.5 hectares.

B. Karthikayani, Assistant Director of Agriculture, said that ATMA activities such as training on millet crop production for farmer interest groups, reduction of chemical fertilizers through integrated nutrient management, vermicompost production, organic input production, village-level agricultural development group training, and agriculture machinery usages were conducted for farmers.

Likewise, through Kisan Gosthies activity, farmers will be educated in new techniques in agriculture, organic farming training under the innovative activities at the district level, demonstrations, farm school activity, and joint visits by agricultural scientists, extension workers, and farmers to resolve issues in farming. Through these activities, in the past seven months from May to November, 1,234 farmers from the block benefitted, Ms. Karthikayani added.