Disaster prone Cuddalore farmers start wearing several hats

Repeatedly ravaged by natural disasters, the recent deluge following unprecedented rains being the latest, the farmers in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district have started diversifying like never before.
From taking up organic farming to cashew shelling to cattle rearing, they are branching out to different areas connected to agriculture with the help of government agencies and NGOs that provide them training and micro-credit support.
K Gopalakrishnan of V Kattupalayam, essentially a farmer, had some time back also taken up cashew procurement, shelling, processing and marketing. But, with the deluge having hit the cashew business, he is now contemplating taking up vermicomposting as a new alternative. Vermicomposting is the practice of using earthworms to convert organic waste into fertilizer.

"It is all about syncing demand, supply, seasons and time. At the moment cashew shelling is at a slow pace. We expect it to pick up momentum after some time. During such lean period we give more attention to organic farming or some other local work," he says.
Gopalakrishnan says he had previously produced and used vermicompost exclusively for his farms but "now I find that it can be sold and vermicomposting by itself could get me some additional income".
Also the treasurer of Real Organic Agriculture Federation (ROAF), Gopalakrishnan says farmers like him were now tapping the potential of micro-credit and seeking hands-on training on latest farm trends more and more.

He said experts from government agencies like Krishi Vigyan Kendra and NGO "Real" provide information about current trends in the farming sector and train them in organic farming techniques. The NGO has also lent interest free loans, he added.

"Earlier, we used to feel that we knew all available farms techniques. Now, after attending training sessions, we feel that science combined with traditional wisdom could make the difference," he said.
"Through our ROAF, several farmers have got Rs 10,000 loan and our federation today lends tractor to farmers at concessional rentals which is as low as Rs 100-200 a day while the going market rate is over Rs 1,000," he said.

Gopalakrishnan's wife Soundaravalli, a key member of a local women's self-help group, thanked NABARD Financial Services (NABFINS) for their micro-credit services.
Due to such credit, she said, women in her village were gainfully employed. "Aided by such credit, (alongwith their own contribution) some of us have bought manual cashew outer-shell crushers, while others have gone for farming organic vegetables," she said.