At grievance meet, Theni farmers learn benefits of spraying fertilisers using drone

Theni district administration organises farmers' meeting at Horticultural college, featuring drone demos, coconut plucking machines, and SHG millet dishes.

In a novel initiative, the Theni district administration has organised its farmers’ grievance redressal meeting at the Horticultural college and research institute, here, which came in handy for the ryots to learn about the nuances of prevention aspects while growing horticultural crops.

District Collector R. V. Shajeevana presided over the meeting in which senior officials from the Agriculture department and others participated.

The faculty members at the Institute had organised a live demonstration of how to use drone for sprinkling fertilisers for okra crop, to prevent pest attacks in coconut and mango saplings et al. Many farmers noted down the information and also raised queries about the cost and other aspects of the drones.

The officials also showed the merits of a machine, which could pluck the coconuts from trees. The farmers were urged to download the Uzhavan App in their mobile phones, as it provided numerous information about the subsidy component, on the prices and among others.

In yet another unique initiative, the women self-help-groups from the district had come to the meeting with preparations made of millets, which were welcomed by the participants. The Collector led the group by tasting the vegetable pulaav dish made of “kuthiraivaali” by SHG women from Chinnamanoor.

For the ensuing farm activities in the district, the Collector informed the farmers that the district had ample stock of all fertilisers. Two days ago, during a surprise check conducted by the officials, three outlets in Periyakulam block were found to have indulged in malpractice and violations following which they were instructed to ‘stop sales’ until further orders.

The Collector appealed to the fertiliser outlets to display the price and stocks in front of their shops. The farmers and their association office-bearers were also told to be aware of the steps being taken by the government in their interest.