Organised farming: Less investment, high profits

BANGALORE: On the lines of Milk Cooperative Society’s method, the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore, is promoting a  community-based farm practice, which will help small and marginal farmers sell their produce without the intervention of middlemen.“With the decreasing percapita land every day, it has become a compulsion for farmers to choose organised farming,” said Srinivas Gowda, president of Mango Growers Association in Chintamani. Understanding Community-based farming: In this method of farming, farmers unite to produce the same crop sharing technical inputs and farm practices. Also, other aspects such as research, input supply, extension, credit, collection of produce, processing, and marketing are all integrated to maximise the returns on investments. Benefits : Organised farming reduces food processing and transportation cost for farmers and increases profit to farmers as they sell the produce without the intervention of middlemen. “Fragmented land holding has made it difficult for farmers to investment on machinery, labour and fertilisers. Through community-based farming, they can utilise the land to its full capacity and sell their produce at a higher price without the involvement of middlemen,” Vice-Chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Dr Narayana Gowda said.The Farm Statistics: According to research report by Initiative for Development Foundation, small farmers cultivating on less than a hectare of land constitute 83 per cent. Out of this, only 42 per cent of the farmland  is cultivable and the total output from this land is only half, constituting 51 per cent of the overall farm output.