Natural farming training for rural staff held

Tirupati: A two-day training programme on natural farming was conducted for farmer master trainers at DRDA meeting hall here on Thursday.

As part of the programme, selected farmer master trainers were assigned 6 to 10 Internal Community Resource Persons (ICRPs). These trainers will set up model natural farming plots in their own fields and train the ICRPs. Each ICRP will also establish similar models in their fields and further train lead farmers.

This process aims to expand natural farming models in more villages and among more farmers

Speaking on the occasion, DPM Shanmugam said the main goal of natural farming model is to ensure continuous income for farmers with minimum investment.

DRDA Project Director Shobhan Babu stated, financial support for natural farming is being provided in the form of loans through SERP. Women from Self-Help Groups (SHGs) cultivating Moringa under this method can receive subsidies from the horticulture department and earn better income due to market demand, he added. He also encouraged every woman to grow kitchen gardens at home using natural farming practices to ensure a healthy diet. Additionally, he mentioned that those processing millets into snack products and marketing them as aggregators will be supported, with 30% subsidy provided for setting up processing units.