PANAJI
The community model being promoted by the Agriculture Department to overcome the problem of scaling up farming operations due to majority of land holdings being small, got a boost with a group of farmers from Surla-Sattari forming an association to manage an automated irrigation system.
The farmers have already begun operations a few days ago and intend to cover approximately 45 hectares of farmland with uniform and regular irrigation using technology-driven advanced water management techniques.
The technique according to the Dergun Farmer Club ensures optimal water utilization and the club has been registered as a dedicated 'Water User Association'.
This move of the group of farmers has inspired others in the village and elsewhere to also follow their example.
Agriculture department sources said, two more such clubs are in the process of being set up, one in Surla itself and another in Kadchal.
The irrigation system adopted by the Surla farmers club has potential to save a staggering 50 per-cent of their labour costs, thus lowering input costs.
The ideal irrigation patterns adopted by the automated system also has proven potential to improve yields, the agriculture official said.
