TAFE to provide equipment rent-free to farmers

Farm lands were often devoid of workers due to lockdown effected by the government to contain COVID-19. Now, with the aid of TAFE, farm equipment has been provided free of cost for the farmers. Farmers could access ‘Uzhavan’ mobile app and register their names to avail this facility. Based on the registration through this app, TAFE would fix a date and provide required farm implements for cultivation of agriculture and horticulture crops. The facility would be made available for a period of ninety days from April. Except paddy, all other crops could be cultivated by utilizing this facility.

“Initially, free tilling was launched on fields of pulses and some vegetables at Melathulukkankulam village in Kariapatti taluk,” Sankar S Narayanan, Personal Assistant to Collector, Virudhunagar, when contacted, said on Sunday.

“An acre of farm land requires tractor ploughing at three regular intervals. It consumes a minimum of four hours and incurs expenditure of about Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 on fuel, normally for a farmer,” Narayanan said.

Further, he added that some pockets of the district had recently experienced rain during this dry spell and hence it would be the right time for farmers to take up summer ploughing. The annual average rainfall of the district is 817 mm and it’s achieved during last year. The district has a total of 1.74 lakh farmers in twelve different blocks. On the extent of cultivation, he said the district has an average of 28,000 hectares of paddy field, 48,000 ha of millets, 12,000 ha of pulses and 20,000 ha of cotton. Besides, 7,000 ha of horticulture crops and fruit trees, he said.