K. Kumar, a progressive farmer in Maaviduthikottai near Devakottai in Sivaganga district, has been reaping benefits from the farm pond he established less than a year ago as water for irrigation is available and water table has also improved.
Visiting the farm pond here on Wednesday, Collector P. Madhusudhan Reddy said the State government had encouraged the farmers to have their own farm ponds. For this purpose, 100% subsidy was offered in the range of ₹60,000 to ₹1 lakh to the farmers if they fulfilled certain criteria.
Apart from the Agriculture Engineering Department, the Horticulture and Animal Husbandry departments also offered the subsidy to eligible farmers, he told reporters. By setting up the farm ponds, whenever there was rain, the farmer can store it and utilise for his crop by pumping it out with the help of a motor pumpset. This conservation in a small area, adjacent to the cultivable lands, not only helped in recharging the water table, but made the farmer self-reliant for water for irrigation.
The Collector said that apart from storage of water for irrigation, the farm ponds could also be used for fishing and a particular variety of grass could be raised along the bund of the farm pond for cattle feed. During a brief interaction with Mr. Kumar, the Collector also learnt that the yield of the crops raised in the belt had improved. He appreciated the field assistants from the Agriculture Engineering Department for having a good rapport with farmers.
An official from the Agriculture Department said that this year alone 537 farm ponds had been established in the district and Devakottai block had 67. So far, 1,680 farm ponds had been created over the last three years. For a drought-prone district like Sivaganga, the concept of farm ponds had been a boon to the farmers. Offering subsidy components would encourage more farmers to establish farm ponds, the official said.