Ryots told to have sales acumen

KANCHEEPURAM: Participants of a training programme on latest techniques to be adopted in agricultural and horticultural operations were urged not to be content with being mere producers.

Addressing them at the programme organised by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development at Ramapuram in the Velamur panchayat in the Achirapakkam block on Friday, the speakers called upon farmers to turn profit-making businessmen instead of acting as mere producers of agricultural and horticultural produces.

CA. Ra. Sivasubramanian, Director, Dorven Agro-Eco-Bio-Ventures and panel member, Agro Business, Confederation of Indian Industries, said that opening up of the economy had brought about a massive change in the marketability of all products.

He asked whether the farmers could not sell their produce with sufficient profit margin, when car and other consumer goods manufacturers were able to sell their products at prices fixed by them.

Pointing out that nowadays farmers in and around Bangalore were not selling their produce at throw-away prices, Mr. Sivasubramanian said they were utilising the cold storage service offered by an organisation to postpone the sale of their produce till they got sufficient profit.

Similar exercise could be adopted by the farmers of Velamur and nearby Pathiri panchayats since the National Horticulture Board had a separate scheme for creation of cold storage facility for horticultural produce.

S. S. Nagarajan, vice-president, Agriculture Research, TAFE, called upon the farmers to go in for ADT 37, ADT 47 and Bapatla paddy varieties as the condition of soil available in these villages was conducive to bumper harvest.

M. K. Sudhakar, Assistant General Manager, NABARD, presented a brief outline of various schemes available for judicious use of ground water or surface water for irrigation.