Agro technologists advocate direct sowing this samba season, farmers urge govt. to issue advisory
The Tamil Nadu Agro Technologists Association is advising farmers to adopt direct sowing methods for the samba season to conserve water amid potential climate-related shortages. However, some farmer representatives argue that the lack of soil moisture makes this method currently unfeasible.
Why it matters
Water management in the Cauvery delta is critical for agricultural stability and food security in the region.
With water for irrigation to be released from the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur on Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu Agro Technologists Association has advised farmers to go in for direct sowing to conserve water during the samba season.
The association, comprising retired officials of the Agriculture and allied departments, faculty of Tamil Nadu Agriculture University and experts, while welcoming the State government’s decision to open the dam for irrigation on September 1, stressed on the importance of farmers to use the available water sparingly.
The advisory, drawn up in consultation with a team of experts of the association, including P. Kalaivananan, P. Venkatesan, V. Palaniappan, Santhana Gopala Krishnan and Kathiresan, pointed out that the current storage of about 45 tmc (thousand million cubic) ft of water at Mettur dam and the current inflow from Karnataka could be meet the irrigation requirement of the delta till October 15.
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