Date:23/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/23/stories/2008082354970600.htm

Tamil Nadu

Rs.3.52 cr. granted for drip irrigation

Staff Reporter

THENI: The State government granted of Rs.3.52 crore for implementation of drip irrigation scheme in the district. A total of 1,760 hectares would be brought under drip irrigation system this year, according to Collector S.J. Chiru.

He was addressing a seminar on drip irrigation held in Cumbum near here on Thursday.

Every year, water for irrigation was getting depleted owing to shortage of rain and failure of monsoon. Groundwater table and storage in irrigation wells too had come down.

With shortage of water, cultivation areas too had been shrinking drastically, he said. Water available in the district was insufficient to irrigate cultivation areas.

To feed the growing population, we needed to increase productivity in small areas using less water.

Drip irrigation would be a viable alternative to use water efficiently to boost production, he added. Under this scheme, each farmer could get subsidy for creating drip irrigation facility up to five hectares.

Uniform distribution of water, minimum water usage and cut in labour costs were some of the major benefits of the scheme, Mr. Chiru said.

In his special address, Tamil Nadu Special Representative for New Delhi P. Selvendran said agriculture should become an industry to enable farmers to get better price for agriculture produces.