Farmer's club brings to life a sleepy village

Once a sleepy village, Aadanoor, 35 km from Tuticorin town, is today buzzing with farming activities.

The transformation happened after National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) recently opened a farmer's club there under its Farmer's Club Programme (FCP).

Veerapandia Kattabomman Farmer's Club has 20 members engaged in various farming activities. It has a chief co-ordinator and an associate co-ordinator, elected from among its members.

"The club was formed to develop the area on social and economical fronts through credit, technology transfer and capacity building," R. Bharat Kumar, Assistant General Manager, NABARD, told The Hindu .

Under the programme, NABARD would extend financial support to the club till the 2008-09 fiscal. It included annual maintenance grant of Rs. 3,000 and expenses to meet the farmers' visits to agriculture research institutions and progressive farms twice a year.

Mr. Kumar said the visits would help the farmers to interact with specialists in agriculture and allied activities. "They can imbibe the latest agriculture practices, which can be transmitted to the fields for increasing the yield, and adoption of post-harvest handling techniques."

Besides, expenses of four training programmes conducted by the club for its members on `technology upgradation' would be sponsored by NABARD a year, at the rate of Rs. 1,250 per session, for the next three fiscals.

It is being promoted by Eppothumvendran branch of Indian Overseas Bank for extension of credit.

Source: The Hindu