ITDA Pushes for Organic Farming in Tribal Areas
Tribal farmers participating in the event suggested that investment assistance from banks could help reduce their dependence on middlemen and private bankers, improving their profitability.
Visakhapatnam: ITDA in-charge project officer and joint collector Dr. M.J. Abhishek Gowda underscored the need to promote organic agriculture among tribal farmers.
Speaking at a one-day workshop on organic farming on Wednesday, Dr. Gowda emphasised the importance of empowering tribal farmers by giving them direct access to the market.
The workshop brought together divisional horticulture and marketing officers, and representatives from farmer-producer associations and voluntary organisations.
Tribal farmers participating in the event suggested that investment assistance from banks could help reduce their dependence on middlemen and private bankers, improving their profitability.
District Agriculture officer S.B.S. Nand revealed that out of 35,000 farmers in the Paderu ITDA region, 14,000 are fully engaged in organic farming. He pointed out that tribal communities cultivate paddy across 40,000 acres and ragi on 16,000 acres without the use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides.
Dr. Gowda encouraged farmers to diversify beyond paddy, pointing to the growing demand for barnyard and foxtail millets.
District Horticulture officer A. Ramesh Kumar Rao asked turmeric growers to enrol themselves in crop insurance schemes with a premium of ₹1,336 per acre. In the event of crop damage, farmers could receive compensation of up to ₹88,000.
Those who attended the workshop included assistant collector Sahit and ITDA assistant project officer M. Venkateswara Rao.
