Farmer-friendly technology to solve agri issues

Chairman of Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board, New Delhi, Dr Gurbachan Singh on Thursday asserted that the conversion of technology to farmer friendly capsules may help the farmers in finding answers to the problems encountered in agriculture.

Addressing scientists and farmers at the one-day national seminar on ‘Advances and challenges in sugarcane research’ organised by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore in association with the Directorate of Research and Zonal Agricultural Research Station, V C Farm, Mandya, Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore and Bharath Ratna Sir M V Sugarcane Institute, Mandya, Singh listed out the plethora of problems the farmers are undergoing, and the solutions for it.

For drought and salinity, especially in a State like Karnataka, Singh advocated producing multi stress tolerant varieties of sugarcane crops that can withstand sun, salinity and also drought situations.

In addition to this, focus should be on increasing the bi-products of sugarcane, and inter-cropping of pulses, vegetables along with sugarcane.

However, the biggest challenge was checking the exodus of youth and farmers from villages to cities in search of greener pastures, which had decreased profitability and holding size.

Emphasising on technology, Singh advised the scientists to rely on farm based research by taking up on the field studies, concentrating on the problematic areas. Developing manpower by imparting education in the related area at school and college levels, and deputing right people for the right job, and large scale mechanisation in farming would also help address the problems.

Singh also reminded the farmers of the inevitability of going back to the traditional methods of farming, thanks to depleting underground water level. In the earlier days, pits were dug to store rainwater.