‘Farmer Champions’ initiative launched in Nellore to make agriculture profitable for farmers

In view of declining farm incomes due to rising costs, SPSR Nellore district administration has initiated the ‘Farmer Champions’ initiative, a new approach to make agriculture profitable for the farmers. This initiative is aimed at promoting market-oriented cultivation across 722 gram panchayats of 37 mandals in the district on an experimental basis for the coming two years.

The officials of concerned departments are in the process of identifying aspiring farmers from each village in the district to train them as ‘Farmer Champions’. Following the advice of the agricultural officials, the selected farmers will become ‘role models’ or ‘leading farmers’ in the panchayat and later guide other farmers in the village to adopt the best practices in agriculture.

In an interaction with The Hindu, Collector Himanshu Shukla said, “The paddy production is predominant in Nellore region since historic times. Over the time, agriculture has become less productive and we want to make it profitable again. About 722 Farmer Champions will be chosen across all villages in the district and they will be given all support for the next couple of years.”

“They will be trained to use the latest agricultural machinery and post-harvest techniques in cultivation. The farmers will be educated on marketing knowledge, organic farming practices, and other necessary skills. Finally, they will be instructed to show crop progress, lean towards alternative crops, gain expertise in irrigation management, and adopt good fertilizer and pesticide management practices,” he added.

The Collector said that once the Farmer Champions turn out to be successful, more farmers in the district will switch to alternative crop cultivation and make agriculture profitable by incorporating modern technology. He is also expecting the agriculture-related companies to provide financial support to their experimental farming initiative under the corporate social responsibility (CSR).

District Agricultural Officer (DAO) P. Satyavani said, “The Mandal Agricultural Officers (MAOs) have been instructed to select the best practising farmers in the district. The Farmer Champions will be offered modern agricultural tools and techniques to adopt innovative farming. Based on their success, other farmers will also be encouraged to follow the same.”