Tamil Nadu Government to Appoint Agriculture Scientists to Advise Farmers on Latest Technology, Crop Protection
The Tamil Nadu state government will soon appoint agriculture scientists to support and guide farmers in each taluk.
These scientists would advise on the latest technology, high-yielding crop varieties, and crop protection methods using the latest technical solutions.
These agricultural scientists would be recruited from agriculture colleges and research institutions in agriculture and with guidance and support from Tamil Nadu Agriculture University.
The sources in the state agriculture department told IANS that the state government plans to infuse a fresh impetus and confidence among farmers by appointing these agricultural scientists in each taluk.
“The appointment of agriculture scientists who are well versed in all the modern methods of farming will provide a major support base to the farmers so that they feel confident and equipped to deal with any issues that come up, including crop failure and withering of crops due to pest attack,” A senior officer of the state agriculture department told IANS.
He added that these newly-appointed agriculture scientists would support farmers in the value addition of their produce, thus increasing commercial viability and, thereby, economic independence of farmers.
The scientists would also research basic statistics like rainfall, crop yield, details of the soil, pest statistics and infrastructure facilities and provide a roadmap to the farmers.
The agricultural scientists would warn the farmers of pest attacks locally and at the state level and direct them to take necessary precautions to prevent major crop losses.
The farmers would be provided with marketing support and trained in post-harvest grading of crops with guidance from the scientists.
However, farmers are not impressed with the proposal. R. Arumugasamy, a farmer association leader at Erode, while speaking to IANS, said, “This is only a hype that the government is creating regarding the appointment of new agriculture scientists, but instead, they should be providing training to the farmers at the grassroots level.”
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