India’s second largest tractor company TAFE has decided to extend the programme to women peasants.
A pilot project to train women farmers in farm management – soil conservation, pest management, yield improvement, tractor driving and implement usage will soon be launched, TAFE said today at during a Farmers’ Day event organized by the company at Doddaballapur, near Bengaluru called ‘Raithara Dhinachanarane’, TAFE focused on horticulture, the flavor of the region with a variety of fruits and vegetables, and conducted sessions on best farm practices leveraging technology and equipment.
Over 350 farmers, including women farmers, participated in the day-long programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr K Srinivasan, Senior Chief Agri- Economist, TAFE said “Through this Farmer’s Day event, we encourage farmers to accelerate the pace of horticultural development in fulfilling the national task of achieving self reliance in fruit production. Our mission is to lead farming communities at the local and national levels towards sustainable, organic stewardship of land, food and fiber while respecting nature, upholding social justice and protecting natural resources.”
Farm scientists and experts from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, Indian Institute of Horticulture, Bengaluru and TAFE, touched upon improving the output of fruits like mango, grapes, sapota, banana, guava and papaya, and vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, brinjal and tomato.
Mr V Srinivasan, Associate Vice President, TAFE Doddaballapur Plant, Mr S Ramakrishnan, CITO, TAFE, Dr K Srinivasan, Sr Chief Agri Economist, TAFE, Dr N Nagaraja, Director of Extension, UAS, Bangalore, Dr R Chithiraichelvan, IIHR, Dr M Prabhakar, IIHR, Dr Y T N Reddy, IIHR, Dr P Sampath Kumar, IIHR, and Dr A Rekha, IIHR, were among those who guided the farmers.
TAFE honoured progressive farmers in the region and recognised them for their outstanding practices. Two women farmers were also honoured for their significant efforts in integrated farming practices.
TAFE also conducted an impromptu quiz and felicitated meritorious students from farmers’ families.
Farmers’ Day is one of the unique outreach initiatives undertaken on TAFE’s ‘J’ Farm. J Farm, a 200-acre property on the outskirts of Chennai, is an adaptive research and agricultural extension centre, devoted solely to the purpose of developing better farming techniques and crop varieties for maximizing the yield of farmers.
TAFE has already covered Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Uttrakhand touching the lives of over 6,000 farmers.
The first Farmer’s Day event was held in Madurai, at TAFE’s Kalladipatti plant in May 2006. The practice has been observed every year since then and is celebrated across vivid geographies and cultural mixes in India.
Under its CSR charter, TAFE conducts various medical camps and donates books and other study material to needy students.
TAFE has recently been felicitated with the Corporate Citizen of the Year Award at PR Council of India’s Global Conclave held at Hyderabad.