By Pathri Rajasekhar
Copyright deccanchronicle
Nellore: A 33-member team from the Tamil Nadu State Rural Livelihoods Mission (TNSRLM) visited Prakasam district on a three-day exposure tour to study community-based natural farming (APCNF) initiatives being implemented by the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS).The tour was coordinated under the guidance of District Project Manager Ms. Subhashini. The visit focused on nutrition security and livelihood improvement through nutri-gardens and kitchen gardens promoted by the Health and Nutrition Department. Divided into two groups, the delegates toured several villages in Kothapatnam mandal.They observed models such as pre-monsoon dry sowing (PMDS), “Any Time Money” (ATM) peanut cultivation, bio-resource centres producing seed balls, solid and liquid bio-fertilisers, and Surya Mandala models.The team also interacted with farmers, self-help group women, health and nutrition fellows, and internal community resource persons (ICRPs) to understand crop selection, multilayer designs, bio-input usage, and pest and disease management in natural farming.Special discussions were held on the role of nutri-gardens and chemical-free vegetables in strengthening food and nutritional security at the village level.Officials from the RySS state office, district natural farming staff, local farmers, and Anganwadi workers also took part in the programme.
