Wednesday, September 27 2006 10:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Nagapattinam (TN): An Ecological and Organic Farming Research and Training Centre has been opened near here to create awareness among the roots regarding the drawbacks of adopting modern agricultural techniques.

"Sponsored by Mahanadhi, an NGO and Tamil Nadu Organic Farmers Movement, the Centre moots giving training to farmers on how to carry out farming activities in co-existence with nature," its stake-holders said.

The Centre was inaugurated yesterday by Swami Vimurtanandha of Sri Ramakrishna Mutt, Chennai.

Vimurthananda said the farmers of Cauvery delta had deviated from traditional farming practices in the last twodecades after being attracted by modern farming techniques.

Speaking on the occasion, Dhanapalan, Secretary Farmers' Forum said that the adoption of modern farming techniques in the last two decades not only ruined the fertility of the soil but also contaminated it.

"Knowingly, farmers were consuming contaminated food grains. If they returned to traditional farm practices, the cost of cultivation also would become cheaper," he said.

"District Collector S Jawahar, while releasing a booklet compiled by the Tamil Nadu Organic Farmers Movement," said that modern agricultural methods were capital intensive, prompting farmers to go for loans for cultivation.

"Farmers should try to give up this costly process and turn their attention to develop natural farming," he said.