Farmers seek vegetable seeds, expertise to tide over Gaja crisis
Deepak Karthik | tnn | Dec 2, 2018
Trichy: Recovering from the havoc wreaked by cyclone Gaja, farmers in agrarian hamlets adjoining Vedaranyam have sought country vegetable seeds and support of agriculture experts to rebuild their livelihood. Since growing the trees including coconut and mango afresh would take years, the farmers urged agricultural experts including agronomists to visit their hamlets and give suggestions to revive agriculture. They were attending a consultative meeting organised by various non-governmental organisations at Sembodai on Saturday.
With Vedaranyam being the most-affected town in the cyclone, farmers in the agrarian hamlets including Sembodai, Aayakaranpulam and Neivilakku said that a majority of the standing coconut, mango, cashew and lime trees had been lost. The consultation meeting was organised by various NGOs for Vedaranyam farmers at Sembodai government primary school to help them recover and redevelop their livelihood. Moderated by experts in agriculture, farmers shared their opinions and demands to recover from the economic loss incurred. “Cultivating vegetables for now will help us take care of our needs on our own. So we need quality country vegetable seeds and other farming gear,” S Govindarajan, a farmer from Sembodai said. The farmers also expressed their inability to remove the fallen trees and sought the support of solid waste management experts to recycle the biomass.
Since seawater intrusion was reported in parts of Pushpavanam hamlet, farmers also wanted the fertile soil to be reclaimed through scientific process. “We have prepared a plan of action for the next few months through interaction with Vedaranyam farmers. The requirements will be shared with government agencies and agronomists interested in helping the cyclone-hit farmers find solutions,” Dr S Velvizhi, principal scientist with M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, told TOI. The farmers also called for supplying quality saplings of mango, coconut and lime trees. A plan to form farming groups in the affected hamlets was mooted at the meeting so that a collective solution could be arrived at through joint efforts for reviving the livelihood of the affected delta farmers.
கஜா புயல் மறுகட்டுமான பணிகளை ஒருங்கிணைக்கும் இணையதளம் : Website to Coordinate Gaja Cyclone Relief Work 