ONGOLE: As part of its programme to promote organic farming, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) will be giving 256 cattle of Ongole breed to farmers in Prakasam district. On Tuesday, 40 cows and bulls of the breed arrived at Chirala, Korisapadu, Ardhaveedu and Martur mandals. The remaining cattle will be provided to those who have already submitted applications for the same, shortly. Organic farmers from 45 of the 56 mandals in the district have applied for the programme.
“The TTD has sanctioned a cow or a pair of bulls per farmer under its ZBNF/organic farming programme. The first batch of Ongole breed cattle arrived here on Tuesday and distributed to the farmers the same day. The remaining number of animals will be given to the beneficiaries within a couple of days,” Subhashini, ZBNF district programme manager, said.
For the preparation of the prasadam, the TTD board had agreed to buy 6,000 quintals of Bengal gram, grown organically, from the district authorities at a suitable support price. As such, 625 farmers gave their consent to grow the crop through ZBNF or organic farming technique with support from the district agriculture officials.
In continuation to the mentioned agreement, the TTD recently decided to provide 162 cows and 92 bulls of Ongole breed to the farmers of the district. Accordingly, 40 Ongole cattle were sent to the farmers in Martur, Chirala, Korisapadu and Ardhaveedu mandals on Tuesday. These cattle belong to the TTD’s Palamaner farm and the transport cost was borne by the devasthanam.