Ooty: The Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and the National Agriculture Development Programme (NADP) have together brought good fortune to hill farmers with schemes towards organic farming and area extension to grow more horticulture crops in the Nilgiris.
Stating that in order to give a fillip to organic farming, this year 50 vermi-compost units are to be set up across the Nilgiris, Shiva Subramanian Samraj, Joint Director of Horticulture in the Nilgiris, said that 35 farmers from across the Nilgiris who have been trained in Sikkim on organic farming technologies under MIDH, have been selected to set up vermi-compost units.
Under the MIDH scheme, Rs 427 lakh have been allotted to the Nilgiris for horticulture development. Under this, area extension will be done over 130 hectares to cultivate garlic and ginger. Likewise, area extension will be done over 100 hectares to grow export quality hill vegetables and another 100 hectares to cultivate spices. This apart, local level schemes will be drawn up to set up green houses, cold storage facility and warehouses to collect and preserve farm produce and cut flowers, he noted.
Under the NADP which is aimed to increase the productivity of important crops through focused interventions to maximize returns to farmers, steps will be taken to cultivate lime over 18 hectares and carrot, potato, beetroot and cabbage over 218 hectares. While Rs 13,195 subsidy is given per hectare for lime cultivation, for other vegetables it will be around Rs 20,000 per hectare, he pointed.
Efforts will be made to implement the micro-irrigation project over 2050 hectares across the Nilgiris during this fiscal for which necessary implements will be given at cent percent subsidy to small and marginal farmers and 75 percent subsidy to other farmers, Samraj divulged.
