The ICAR-National Research Centre on Banana, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, has launched an initiative called “Banana Farmers to Banana Experts (BF-BE)” with the goal of providing farmers with the necessary Banana information and making them experts in its cultivation. The project is being carried out in collaboration with the Agricultural Technology Management Agency – Support to State Extension Programs for Extension Reforms Scheme (ATMA-SSEPERS).
Dr. S. Uma, Director, ICAR-NRC on Banana, Tiruchirapalli & Course Director underlined the conceptualization of the initiative with the amalgamation of both practical and theory components on the best practices in Banana cultivation. Dr. Uma stated that the main objective of the initiative is to help the farmers understand the science behind each cultivation practices which they could apply on the field not only for Banana, but for other crops also.
Farmers in Tamil Nadu’s 11 districts of Villupuram, Kanyakumari, Chengalpattu, Thiruvarur, Dindigul, Ranipet, Pudukkottai, Nilgiri, Thanjavur, Karur, and Theni received continuous hands-on training programmes lasting 1 / 2 3 days. From December to January, a total of 440 farmers were trained.
Banana improvement, production, protection, post-harvest, and value-addition were all discussed with the participants.
Scientists and technicians from various sections of the ICAR-NRCB led training sessions for farmers from all eleven districts.