Farm will

Speaking more about the same,coordinator for the farm,Saee Pawar says,“The farm was started when we discovered that Australian missionaries were distributing free food to the families here in Baramati that were struck by the drought. They were approached and were asked to help the farmers out by building percolation tanks to harvest the meager rain water supply rather than just give them free food. That was how the idea of the demo farm was eventually conceptualised.”

Built on 110 acres of drought-hit land,the demo farmer is a model for farmers to come and visit and learn about the various new facets of farming. Boasting of over 300 such percolation tanks,the problem of water shortage during and post the rainy seasons is now completely negated. “The farm was one of the first places in Maharashtra where the concept of drip irrigation was employed successfully. That not only helped reduce the water paucity problem here,but also gave farmers a new idea to pursue back on their own farms,” adds she.

The demo farm,which has around 90 per cent of land devoted to agriculture research and the analysis of soil and food grains for the farmers also employs an animal husbandry section,wherein cost effective and mechanised methods of increasing the milk production are used,that add to the income. “We have also started a sericulture department to educate farmers about the cost-effectiveness of sericulture,” says she adding,“All these factors also go a long way in ensuring that the farmers maintain a clean and hygienic atmosphere for the same.”

As far as the anniversary celebrations for the demo farm are concerned,Pawar says that the fact that they are now using the farm to even promote agro- tourism and that over 1 lakh farmers have actually come to the farm till now to learn about newer farming techniques is celebration in itself. “It’s not about having a big event to celebrate this event. Rather its about seeing the amount of development that even a barren piece of land has bought about in Baramati. And as far as a celebration of any sorts is concerned we plant a tree every year to mark the anniversary of the farm,” says she on a concluding note.