Udupi: Students Get Hands-on Experience in Mechanized Farming
 
Suvarna Brahmavar
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (NM/SN)
 
Udupi, Jun 29: At a time when the younger generation is losing touch with agriculture, a praiseworthy effort was made at Saibarakatte here on Wednesday June 27 to arouse their interest, with the demonstration of an agricultural method that is a blend of tradition and modern.

The students of Mahatma Gandhi High School and other locals were witness to a live demonstration of mechanized planting of paddy saplings at the field of Satish Kumar Shetty Yadtady, near Saibarakatte, which helped them not only in knowing more about modern farming methods but also gave them hands-on experience in the field.

Explaining the necessity of farming in the modern day, K M Udupa of Bharatiya Vikasa Trust said that in order to sustain agriculture, innovation of such mechanism is important so that the cost of production meets profit. He also called on the younger generation to show more interest towards farming and agriculture and thus imbibe modern methods to enjoy greater efficiency.

The mechanized planting of paddy saplings will not only save the farmers from non-availability of labourers but will also yield greater output and profit, he said.

Demonstrating the procedure, he said that it is an important mechanism in agriculture as it solves the problem of non-availability of labourers. In addition, the government provides subsidy to buy the product and helps in the initial investment. Moreover, there are a group of farmers who already possess the mechanism. They use it with mutual understanding, he added.

The demonstration was held in association with Agriculture Research Centre, Rotary Club, Vijay Bank, Vijay Rural Development Foundation with the idea of reviving paddy cultivation in the district and to motivate the rural youth in continuing with the age-old profession in their farmlands.