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| Symbolically the first harvest was given to the District Secretary |
The beginning of groundnut harvesting was held in the
Nediyamadu Cluster Village in Batticaloa under the "Field Day" programme on 10th this month under the patronage of Mrs. Kalamathy Pathmarjah, the Government Agent /
District Secretary, Batticaloa. The
first harvest of groundnuts in the village was presented to the chief guest. Mr. S. Suthakar, Divisional Secretary,
Manmunai West and Mrs. Sasikala Punniyamoorthy, Director (Planning), Batticaloa
Kachcheri attended as guests of honour.
Continuing the Field Day activities, Mr. K. Vishnukaran, Technical Assistant at SLGAP Division of
Department of Agriculture demonstrated how to Cultivate for high yield
and how to prevent insects that harm crops. During the event, Mrs. Pathmarajah
discussed with farmers about their ongoing issues faced when cultivating and
suggested solutions too.
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| The Field Day Demonstration |
Groundnuts were cultivated in an area of 50 Acres a Nediyamadu
village by 50 farm families with the direct support of the Climate Smart
Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) which was funded by the World Bank. Due to
a large number of farmers in the village, “Nediyamadu Groundnut Producer
Society” was formed and registered under the Department of Agriculture. The
project provided everything needed including seeds and technical guidance for
successful cultivation.
Mrs.
Sasikala Punniyamoorthy, Director (Planning), Batticaloa District Secretariat, around
60 officers from Manmunai West Divisional Secretariat, Department of Agriculture,
Department of Agrarian Development, the CSIAP officers including
Dr. R.M. Ariyadasa, Deputy Project Director, Eastern Province , Mr.
Amal Arunapriya , Institutional & Capacity Building Specialist-PMU, and 50
groundnut farmers were present in this ceremony.
