Foodgrain production target for Tiruchi fixed at 4-lakh tonne

The State was hoping to achieve a foodgrain production of 125 lakh tonnes during 2017-18 and Agriculture Department officials at field level should work towards increasing the area under coverage and promote the best practices to increase productivity, Director of Agriculture V.Dakshinamoorthy has said.

Chairing a zonal-level review meeting with the department officials here on Friday, Mr. Dakshinamoorthy observed that foodgrain production saw a decline in the State due to the drought-like conditions during 2016-17, but this year it had received above normal rainfall under the southwest monsoon and both the department and farmers were hopeful of a bountiful harvest.

The department was encouraging farmers to bring more area under cultivation, go in for high yielding, pest and disease-resistant varieties and follow good agronomic practices. Farmers were also being advised to use fertilizers and water judiciously.

Stating that the foodgrain production target for Tiruchi district was four lakh tonnes this year, Mr. Dakshinamoorthy urged field-level officers to work towards achieving the target. He discussed the plan of action to be followed in each block for each crop to achieve maximum foodgrain production.

He also instructed the officials to have adequate stocks of seeds of high yielding varieties and fertilizers for the samba season.

The Department of Agriculture was implementing schemes such as the mission on dry land agriculture, collective farming and Prime Minister’s crop insurance scheme.

K. Rajamani, Collector, Tiruchi, and senior officials of the department from Tiruchi, Ariyalur and Perambalur districts participated in the meeting.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/target-set/article19819852.ece