Paddy coverage area to come under SRI system

Tiruchirapalli, Apr 26 (UNI) The Agriculture Department will bring the entire paddy coverage area of 61,000 hectares in Tiruchirapalli district this year under the system of Rice Intensification (SRI), a technique offering huge potential for increasing productivity with less water requirement, according to Joint Director of Agriculture N Ponnuswamy.

He told newspersons here yesterday on the sidelines of farmers grievance day that though the government has fixed a target of 30,000 hectares for SRI in the district this year, the Department was planning to promote the system in the normal paddy coverage area. To begin with, SRI would be promoted in 10,000 hectares during the kuruvai season, he added.

He said farmers could achieve a productivity level of 13 tonnes per hectare by adopting the system and last year a productivity was 8.4 tonnes.

Last year, SRI was adopted in about 17,000 hectare of area, he said.

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