Practicing Precision Agriculture in Dharmapuri District of Tamil Nadu: A Case Study

The Precision Farming Project was first started in Tamil Nadu in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri during 2004-05. It was implemented initially on 250 acres, then 500 acres in 2005 – 06 and 250 acres in 2006 -07. The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University was the nodal agency that implemented this project with total budget of 720 lakhs for a period of three years. Most parts of the Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts are semi-arid tracts with low rainfall and low productivity. In this context, there is a need for studying the impact of technological innovations like precision farming on resource-poor regions and underprivileged farm households particularly the production, income, marketing, under precision farming. To understand the practices at farm level under precision farming In Dharmapuri district. Farmers adopting precision farming methods of cultivation for long period and persistently were considered for the case study. Generally, they are well-respected farm managers, and typically viewed as successful farmers in the local farm community. Certainly the case study farmers should not be thought as representative of all farmers. Still, the information received from the case studies will be instructive for the larger groups. The study found that both farmers were successful in adopting precision method of cultivation in the study area.