Progressive farmer and Rajyotsava awardee Somengada Ganesh Thimmaiah shares his thoughts 

Madikeri: Kodagu’s progressive farmer Somengada Ganesh Thimmaiah of Nallur village near Ponnampet in the southern part of the district has won the Rajyotsava Award for agriculture.

Though coffee and pepper are the prominent commercial crops in Kodagu, Ganesh Thimmaiah has been growing both agricultural and horticultural crops in integrated farming methods and has scripted success.

He is actively involved in innovative agricultural practices since the last 30 years and had earlier served the Indian Army. After retirement from services, he took up agriculture in his 15-acre land and has grown more than 60 varieties of paddy.

 To gain additional income, he has a poultry farm and is also involved in apiculture and pisciculture. Apart from the regular crops of coffee, pepper, ginger, mango, orange and jackfruit, Thimmaiah has cultivated rambutan fruit.

In the integrated method in agriculture, he grows areca, coffee and paddy as main crops and a variety of vegetables and fruits and sub-crops. Thimmaiah has also been growing the ‘Beth’ plants required for honey bees and has implemented a mechanised system in agriculture.

At a time when more and more youths are showing interest in jobs and businesses, Ganesh Thimmaiah has earned name and fame as model farmer and has bagged many awards in the past. He won the National-level Babu Jagjivan Ram Krishi Samman Award. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, conferred the prestigious award on Thimmaiah on the occasion of its 92nd Foundation Day in 2020.

 In April this year, he gave comprehensive training in agriculture to the batch of IAS officers at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie.

 “I am honoured to be conferred with the prestigious Rajyotsava Award and this gives me an opportunity to innovate further. I have been involved in agriculture for three decades and there is a need of attracting more and more youths to agriculture as it is profitable if innovative,” he said.