Farmers visit India on study tour

VISIT: Twenty farmers from different districts are presently touring South India under the patronage of the Ministry of Agricultural Development. Minister of Agricultural Development Chamal Rajapaksa initiated this study tour, considering the significance of developing dry zone agriculture, to improve the livelihoods of those farmers by providing an opportunity to gain first hand-information on similar systems of farming in southern states of India.

The farmers, who are engaged in rainfed agriculture in different districts, have been selected by the extension service of the provincial departments of agriculture for this tour. This is also the first occasion that a group of farmers are touring another country in the region to learn about the farming practices under similar agro climatic conditions. It is also a deviation from the traditional procedure of sending officers on study tours, hence a historic event to enhance agricultural development.

Our rainfed farmers could achieve very low yield in most years due to irregular rainfall receipts in various parts of the dry zone, mainly the North Central and Southern Provinces. Sometimes there are complete crop losses, hence there is considerable risk associated with rainfed agriculture.

Therefore most farmers are highly discouraged to farm under such conditions. Although the rainfall is much less in India than in the dry zones of Sri Lanka, the Indian farmers have been successful in obtaining reasonable crop yields under such harsh conditions.

The Indian farmers use dry farming practices such as timely cultivate with the onset of rains, use of short duration, drought tolerant crop varieties an agronomic practices to overcome the periods of moisture stress. One common practice is to mulch the soil to prevent moisture losses during the cropping seasons as well in fallow seasons. In the case of perennial crops such as fruit trees, double layer mulching is practiced suing crop residues.

The International Crop Research Institute for the Semi - Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) Hyderabad, has developed several varieties of sorghum, pigeon pea and other pulses suitable for growing under dry conditions and Indian farmers use them. They have also devised various methods for water harvesting for agricultural use.

Therefore the objective of this visit is to expose our farmers to the agricultural practices used by the Indian farmers under rainfed conditions.

This study tour will be undertaken in two southern states of India, namely, Andhara Pradesh and the Karnataka. The Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) has organised Andhara Pradeh sector of the tour, which is under the Indian Council for Agricultural Research.

The Bharathiya Agricultural and Industrial Foundation (BAIF), one of the renowned NGOs in India, has organised the visits in Karnataka.

Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy has facilitated this three week long tour. Indian Agricultural Research Council and the Sri Lanka High Commission in Chennai have assisted in developing the field programme. Director, Projects, Ministry of Agricultural Development K. E. Karunatilake is accompanying the farmers.