Coimbatore Department of Agriculture launches planting campaign

The Coimbatore district’s green cover could increase in the coming years as the agriculture department launched a campaign to encourage farmers to plant and maintain tree saplings. As part of Tamil Nadu’s mission on sustainable green cover of agricultural land, the Department of Agriculture ordered 3.43 lakh tree seedlings for Coimbatore.

While the distribution of tree seedlings will begin in a week, authorities expect it to be completed in a month as circumstances are favorable for planting, with the state having recently received substantial rainfall. The main objective of the program is to improve not only the forest cover of the state, but also the incomes of farmers.

According to R Chithra Devi, deputy director of agriculture for the district of Coimbatore, the department of agriculture has placed orders with the forestry department for seedlings. Farmers must register through “Uzhavan App” and can receive saplings from designated nurseries free of charge. Small and micro-farmers, men and women farmers from listed castes and tribes will be privileged, ”she said.

Farmers who plant trees in bunds will receive 50 seedlings per acre, but farmers who plant trees in agricultural fields will receive 160 saplings per acre.

The city of Coimbatore has the best tree cover of the five major cities in the state, according to a survey last year, according to an official. The district of Coimbatore ranks second in terms of forest area, with 1975 square kilometers, behind the only district of Erode, which has 2,307 square kilometers. According to the official, 73 lakhs of seedlings would be provided to farmers statewide in the first phase at a cost of Rs 28.57 crore, and 73 lakhs of seedlings will be delivered to farmers in the second phase. At the price of 45.84 crore rupees, 112 lakh plants would be donated.

Plans like these that attempt to increase forest cover in India are in line with promises made by India on the world stage as they will help create carbon sinks, 2.5 To 3 billions tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, increasing its forest and tree cover to 33% of its area.