Port Blair, Sept 29: ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, South Andaman conducted training program on “Use of gender friendly farm implements” for the practicing farmers and farm women of Collinpur Gram Panchayat recently. A total of 25 farmers and farm women have participated in the program.
The training program was inaugurated by Dr. Y. Ramakrishna, Principal Scientist and Head, KVK, Port Blair. In the inaugural address, he exhorted the farming community to reap maximum benefit of the training program by learning the operation of the small farm implements suitable to the farming situations of these islands. Dr. B. K. Nanda, SMS (Agri. Engg.), elaborated the drudgery reducing implements involved in farming practices and practically demonstrated the coconut and arecanut manual dehuskers, coconut tree climber, areca nut plucker and fruit plucker. Dr. N. Bommayasamy, S.M.S. (Agronomy) explained the small drudgery reducing farm implements used for agri horti based farming system and their need for this island ecosystem. Dr. Zachariah George S.M.S. (Animal Science) elaborated the necessity of farm mechanization in livestock sector for doubling income of farmers of these islands. The training was conducted on the concept of learning by doing and the trainees had themselves operated the implements.
The training was conducted under the active guidance of Dr. Eaknath B. Chakurkar, Director, ICAR-CIARI, Port Blair. The three days training was concluded with vote of thanks delivered by Mr. Balram Singh, a progressive farmer of Collinpur Gram Panchayat.