Gram Unnati, India's first integrated Agri-tech solutions company, recently held the first of a series of knowledge workshops for paddy farmers in Uttar Pradesh in collaboration with Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Bareilly. The first camp was held in Mangadpur village, Riccha Block, Bareilly, and nearly 100 paddy farmers attended.
The knowledge workshop was organized to provide guidance to farmers on the appropriate and scientifically recommended package of practices to be followed in the crop after transplantation has taken place. The camp was attended by Dr. Brijpal Singh - KVK Bareilly in-charge, Dr. Ranjeet Singh - Agri scientist, KVK, Dr. Rakesh Pandey - Agri scientist, KVK, Inderpal Singh - local officer from Agriculture Dept., Shyam Singh - expert on micro-nutrients, and Dr. BP Singh - Agri expert from Gram Unnati. It was organized by the UP-project team of Gram Unnati comprising Nupur Mishra (Project Manager), Pawan Kumar (Project Coordinator), and field officers Vishwajeet and Tejram.
Gram Unnati has also lined up a series of awareness workshops with KVKs across western Uttar Pradesh. Besides UP, Gram Unnati is also launching similar workshops with KVKs in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana, and Maharashtra.
The awareness workshops would focus on imparting best practices for paddy with an emphasis on the agronomical practices to be followed after sowing as well as looking into opportunities for market linkage.
Commenting on the awareness workshop with KVKs, Aneesh Jain, CEO & Founder, Gram Unnati said: “Over the past few months during interactions and meetings with the Gram Unnati field team, farmers have brought up the problem of pest and disease infestation in paddy. This problem affects the quality and productivity of the crop, which makes it difficult for the farmers to sell their goods at a profit. For many farmers, in the past, the entire paddy field has been destroyed due to a lack of timely guidance with respect to the control and management of pests along with nutrient management. In this region, paddy is the principal crop grown during the Kharif season, making it one of the main sources of income for local farmers. This is the reason why we decided to organize awareness camps for farmers with the help of KVKs.”
Delighted to be a part of this initiative Dr. Brijpal Singh, KVK Bareilly in charge, said: “We are delighted to be a part of this program organized by Gram Unnati. This is a great platform that would help the farmers learn new technology to better their produce. We interacted with the farmers today regarding practices to be followed to get a good production of paddy and the importance of soil testing etc.”
During the training session in Bareilly, farmers have imparted lessons on post-sowing practices, such as weed control, fertilizer application, irrigation practice, integrated nutrition management, and pest and disease management. Farmers were also provided with knowledge about the proper agronomic procedures to implement in Paddy to improve the crop's quality and overall productivity.
Training will also help in disseminating pertinent new technology being used to support sustainable agriculture, which is good for both farmers and the environment. Even after the training, farmers will continue to receive timely advice and guidance from the Gram Unnati field team to guarantee a robust paddy crop.
