DJ Venakatesh
Diglipur, July 19: Leading from the front, the Pradhan of Madhupur cultivated around 5 acres of land at Madhupur village in North Andaman using organic farming, an initiative never undertaken by any of the 15 Panchayats of Diglipur.
The first time elected Pradhan of Madhupur Panchayat, Mr Shyamal Debnath utilised the services of 4 mazdoors under the matching grant sector of MNREGA incurring an expenditure of about 1 lakh for the initiative to set an example for others to emulate. Many organic plants cultivated in the parcel of land is now blooming.
Speaking to Andaman Sheekha, Mr Debnath said that he drew inspiration from the Deputy Commissioner of the North and Middle Andaman region who routinely motivates the farmers to take up organic farming and refrain from excessive use of fertilizers.
“It used the technical assistance from the Agriculture Division of Diglipur, cleared the jungles and planted vegetables like gourd, white gourd, brinjals, cucumber, ginger etc using organic manure. In the next one work, the plant will bear fruits and the produce will be put up for sale in the organic shop at Madhupur Gram Panchayat on Sundays and Wednesdays.
Using the Seedidar Kheti (step by step cultivation) method enabled him convert hilly land to cultivable land incurring small expenditure. We want more support from the administration, I’m sure more farmers will adopt organic farming in these islands,” he said.
