Coimbatore: The Tamilnadu State Department of Agriculture has set a Committee at the District level for procurement and assists the farmers to use the cold storage facilities available in the Districts at free of cost till the expiry of the lockdown period. There is a relaxation given for the transport of crop production during the lockdown period that may resolve the problems. Farmers should take advantage of the efforts of the Government.
Coimbatore: The Tamilnadu State Department of Agriculture has set a Committee at the District level for procurement and assists the farmers to use the cold storage facilities available in the Districts at free of cost till the expiry of the lockdown period. There is a relaxation given for the transport of crop production during the lockdown period that may resolve the problems. Farmers should take advantage of the efforts of the Government.
The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, came forward to provide multifaceted support to the government, farmers besides medicos to smoothly sail through corona curfew. Dr. N. Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, has given instruction to the scientists to help farmers’ extent possible besides coordinating with the Local district Agri and Horticultural development officials to overcome the corona crisis. The efforts taken by the university is narrated.
The nationwide lockdown for COVID-19 threat impacted almost all segments of the people in the country and the worst one is being a large contingent of farmers who till, toil and triumph the nation by providing food for all amid natural calamities of drought, flood, landslides and now the deadly corona. The extent of the socio-economic impact of corona on rural livelihood in India or in Tamil Nadu, in particular, may take a while to assess. But, the people of the State of Tamil Nadu are at distress to cope with the corona chaos. The impact of the corona curfew includes acute labour shortage for farming operations, impeded transport, and throwaway prices for farm produce, dumping of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Border issues within and between States caused havoc for farmers to transport their produce to the nearby lucrative market.
1. Close linkage to reach the unreached: The TNAU has 39 Research Stations, 14 Colleges and 14 KVKs spread across the state of Tamil Nadu and the university identified its scientists in each district and their names and contact details have been notified by the Government who will work with respective Agriculture Department officials to help the farmers in providing technologies.
2. Preparedness for the season: Amid the abundance of biophobia, the Indian Meteorological Department and TNAU have predicted normal rainfall across the State and farmers should be prepared to begin the farm activities by June which is just 6 weeks away. Director of Research has already alarmed all scientists to be prepared for the upcoming season. The TNAU research network spread across the State and getting ready to produce sufficient quantities of seeds, planting materials and bio inoculants to meet the requirement in the ensuing cropping season.
3. Red alert to rescue farming: The Heads of Research Stations and Program Coordinators of KVKs are advised to be at their headquarters to address the field problems or requirement of the farmers. The most essential activities such as harvest, processing and animal maintenance in all research stations and colleges are going as per schedule while ensuring social distancing, sanitation and stipulated guidelines. Considering the woes of the farmers, the agriculture has been categorized as “essential service” sector. Farmers are requested to contact the local Heads of Officers in-charge for any help they may require. In many parts of the State, there were summer showers and farmers can undertake summer ploughing as a measure to control weeds, desiccate insect pupae besides conservation of moisture.
4. Helping the Needy: At Coimbatore campus, TNAU Staff and Ladies Club jointly distributed vegetables worth of Rs.300 per bag to nearly 400 casual farm workers and in coordination with Rotary Club North distributed gloves and protective masks to all Sanitary department workers of TNAU numbering nearly 70.
5. Technical Support to Medicos: In addition to help rendered to the farmers, TNAU also offer technical support for the ESI and CMC Hospitals in Coimbatore for hands-on training on RT-PCR technique that is employed for diagnosis of COVID 19 infection. Center for Plant Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, TNAU, has expertise in RT-PCR technique which is one of the most robust diagnostic tools to confirm corona disease. The centre provides all-round technical support for the ESI and CMC Hospitals in Coimbatore for hands-on training on RT-PCR technique. Scientists of TNAU joined hands with the Department of Microbiology and its team in ESI Medical College Hospital, Coimbatore, and optimized the viral transport medium. TNAU’s effort was a timely help for the medicos during the lockdown period.
6. Gesture to Medicos: Dr. N. Kumar, Vice Chancellor of TNAU presented a 100 sample testing kit to the ESI hospital for their initial experimentation. Besides, TNAU has spared two RT-PCR machines to Coimbatore and Madurai Medical Units to expedite the testing of the samples.
7. Cutting edge Technologies to Curb Corona: The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has a state-of-the-art Nanotechnology Center which has developed "nano-sanitizer" which remains effective for 30-45 minutes against various microbial pathogens and anchored work on nano-coating in face mask to filter out deadly coronavirus.
The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, came forward to provide multifaceted support to the government, farmers besides medicos to smoothly sail through corona curfew. Dr. N. Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, has given instruction to the scientists to help farmers’ extent possible besides coordinating with the Local district Agri and Horticultural development officials to overcome the corona crisis. The efforts taken by the university is narrated.
The nationwide lockdown for COVID-19 threat impacted almost all segments of the people in the country and the worst one is being a large contingent of farmers who till, toil and triumph the nation by providing food for all amid natural calamities of drought, flood, landslides and now the deadly corona. The extent of the socio-economic impact of corona on rural livelihood in India or in Tamil Nadu, in particular, may take a while to assess. But, the people of the State of Tamil Nadu are at distress to cope with the corona chaos. The impact of the corona curfew includes acute labour shortage for farming operations, impeded transport, and throwaway prices for farm produce, dumping of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Border issues within and between States caused havoc for farmers to transport their produce to the nearby lucrative market.
1. Close linkage to reach the unreached: The TNAU has 39 Research Stations, 14 Colleges and 14 KVKs spread across the state of Tamil Nadu and the university identified its scientists in each district and their names and contact details have been notified by the Government who will work with respective Agriculture Department officials to help the farmers in providing technologies.
2. Preparedness for the season: Amid the abundance of biophobia, the Indian Meteorological Department and TNAU have predicted normal rainfall across the State and farmers should be prepared to begin the farm activities by June which is just 6 weeks away. Director of Research has already alarmed all scientists to be prepared for the upcoming season. The TNAU research network spread across the State and getting ready to produce sufficient quantities of seeds, planting materials and bio inoculants to meet the requirement in the ensuing cropping season.
3. Red alert to rescue farming: The Heads of Research Stations and Program Coordinators of KVKs are advised to be at their headquarters to address the field problems or requirement of the farmers. The most essential activities such as harvest, processing and animal maintenance in all research stations and colleges are going as per schedule while ensuring social distancing, sanitation and stipulated guidelines. Considering the woes of the farmers, the agriculture has been categorized as “essential service” sector. Farmers are requested to contact the local Heads of Officers in-charge for any help they may require. In many parts of the State, there were summer showers and farmers can undertake summer ploughing as a measure to control weeds, desiccate insect pupae besides conservation of moisture.
4. Helping the Needy: At Coimbatore campus, TNAU Staff and Ladies Club jointly distributed vegetables worth of Rs.300 per bag to nearly 400 casual farm workers and in coordination with Rotary Club North distributed gloves and protective masks to all Sanitary department workers of TNAU numbering nearly 70.
5. Technical Support to Medicos: In addition to help rendered to the farmers, TNAU also offer technical support for the ESI and CMC Hospitals in Coimbatore for hands-on training on RT-PCR technique that is employed for diagnosis of COVID 19 infection. Center for Plant Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, TNAU, has expertise in RT-PCR technique which is one of the most robust diagnostic tools to confirm corona disease. The centre provides all-round technical support for the ESI and CMC Hospitals in Coimbatore for hands-on training on RT-PCR technique. Scientists of TNAU joined hands with the Department of Microbiology and its team in ESI Medical College Hospital, Coimbatore, and optimized the viral transport medium. TNAU’s effort was a timely help for the medicos during the lockdown period.
6. Gesture to Medicos: Dr. N. Kumar, Vice Chancellor of TNAU presented a 100 sample testing kit to the ESI hospital for their initial experimentation. Besides, TNAU has spared two RT-PCR machines to Coimbatore and Madurai Medical Units to expedite the testing of the samples.
7. Cutting edge Technologies to Curb Corona: The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has a state-of-the-art Nanotechnology Center which has developed "nano-sanitizer" which remains effective for 30-45 minutes against various microbial pathogens and anchored work on nano-coating in face mask to filter out deadly coronavirus.