Bhubaneswar: Sixtyfive-year-old Nityananda Panda, a resident of Badbarchhikayan village under Agarpada Tehsil of Bhadrak district, has switched from mono to hassle-free integrated farming with the help of virtual advisories.
Panda, who used to cultivate paddy in his field using traditional methods, learnt from a fellow farmer about the agricultural advisories from Reliance Foundation.
Panda got Reliance Foundation’s toll free helpline number (1800-419-8800) from his friend and registered himself with the company for weather-based agro-advisory.
The virtual advisories helped Panda in solving issues related to crop farming, fish farming and dairy.
During the last Kharif season, Panda’s paddy crop was infested with leaf blight and sheath rot. When the farmer approached the Reliance Foundation expert via toll free number, he advised him to apply potash dose instead of nitrogen fertilizer.
The expert further advised him to drain out excess water from the field, pull out weeds and apply a mixture of cow dung and cow urine. On following the expert’s advice for one week, the infected paddy crop was free from pests.
Earlier, Panda used to harvest around 18 quintals of paddy per acre. After getting help from Reliance Foundation, Panda now harvests nearly 22 quintal of paddy per acre.
Besides good crop yield, the expert advice has also helped Panda in managing the water and soil quality of his fish pond, feed management, fish disease management etc. Last year, Panda sold nearly 3 quintals of fish.
The Odisha farmer also seeks assistance from Reliance Foundation for livestock rearing. He calls the helpline number to get advisory on feed management, seasonal vaccination, livestock health and disease management. Panda earns Rs 400 per day from dairy.
After benefitting from virtual advisories, Panda has become quite dependent on Reliance Foundation’s technical platform. He is grateful to Reliance Foundation for his success.
