Page 37 - Agroforestry system - book inner (final corrected) - 9.-3-21_Neat

National level e-symposium on “Agroforestry system for augmenting livestock
productivity and empowering resource poor rural farmers”

grazing animals support the carbon and nitrogen requirement of the grasses. Fodder trees like Acha, Accacia,
Neem are planted as a shade trees. These crops with stand a minimum 15 c and a maximum of 38 to 40 c.
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Water points are essential throughout the year, so that the grazing animals do not walk long distance for want
of water.

Climate : Mean maximum temperature is 33.77 c with a peak of 37.26 c during April. The average minimum
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temperature is 23.07 c with mean low of 19.39 c during January. The mean relative humidity at 7.30 am is
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around 75 % and at 2.30 pm is around 48 %. The mean wind speed is from 4 to 8 km/hr. The average sun
shine hours 6.50 hrs with a peak of 8.22 hrs during march. ( Source .Agrometerological Advisory Services ,
VCRI, Namakkal)
Educating farmers as climate Managers : From 2010, fifty farmers in fifty five villages covering all fifteen
blocks of Namakkal district were identified and given manual rain gauges with the help of rotary clubs in
Namakkal. They were trained to record the daily rainfall and document the same in a note book. Hand holding
of the farmers is still continued for the past nine years. Now farmers are able to understand the rainfall pattern
in their village , predict the ideal sowing dates for rain fed crops like fodder sorghum groundnuts, tapioca.
They are now the bridge between scientific institutions and progressive farmers. The prediction of dates of
harvest is also has helped them to minimize the loss of grains. This is the first initiate in the country to make
the farmers a s climate managers.

Source of irrigation
Source Number Area irrigated (ha)

Net Gross
Govt Canals 3 3936 4697

Tanks
a) Large 67 -- --
b) Small 192 13.98 13.98
Ground Water
a) Private tube wells 14528 7862 9336
b) Dug wells 72854 47658 56086

Total 87382 55520 65423
Source : G.Returns : 2016-17.

Cropping pattern : Cereals and Millets is cultivated in an area of 58077 ha. Sorghum is the major crop.
Pulses is cultivate in an area of 11450 ha. Green gram, black gram and red gram are the chief pulses. Oil
seeds are cultivated in an area of 37247 ha. Groundnut, sesame and castor are the chief oil seeds produced.
Sugarcane is cultivate in river belt area in an area of 12978 ha. ((Source : Directorate of Economics and
Statistics, Chennai 2016-17.)

Land holding pattern : The toal cultivable land of 1,94,798 ha is owned by 1,48,935 persons. 45469 persons
have less than 0.5 ha of land. 36674 persons hold a land size of 0.5 to 1.00 ha. And 37,173 persons hold a land

18 Institute of Animal Nutrition, Centre for Animal Production Studies, TANUVAS
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development