NT Reporter
Sankhali
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has appealed to young farmers to take advantage of the Swayampurna and Atmanirbhar scheme, stressing that attracting youth to group farming and bringing all fallow land in Sankhali under cultivation remained a key objective.
Under the scheme aimed at strengthening the state government’s Green and White Revolution, a proposal has been put forward to implement a second group farming project over an area of about 15 hectares, approximately 1.5 lakh sqm at Ghadiwada-Surla.
The initiative seeks to bring land that has remained fallow for several years back under cultivation.
Sawant said that in the initial phase, the objective was to implement the group farming scheme at four locations in Sankhali constituency and bring more land under cultivation.
To assess the feasibility of the project, officials from the Agriculture Department and the Water Resources Department, along with office bearers of the Bicholim Taluka Farmers Club, conducted a joint inspection of the site.
The move follows the successful implementation of the first group farming experiment at Gavkarwada-Surla, where paddy cultivation has been undertaken using modern agricultural methods. On similar lines, large tracts of fallow land at Ghadiwada-Surla are proposed to be made suitable for cultivation.
Water Resources Department officer Vinod Bhandari, Bicholim Taluka Farmers Club president Vishwambhar Gawas and their team carried out a detailed inspection of the land. It was said that the land would be prepared for cultivation using machinery, and that preliminary tests had already been conducted.
Agriculture Department officials Neelima Gawas and Pankaj Pokale were also associated with the initiative, and with cooperation from various government departments,
efforts have been accelerated to ensure the success of the project.
On behalf of the Farmers Club, Vishwambhar Gawas said that the resolve was to organise farmers and bring fallow land under cultivation, assuring that full cooperation would be provided through the Agriculture Department and the Farmers Club. Officials and farmers were present during the inspection.
