JFarm
Established in 1964, alongside the establishment of the company, on a barren, marginally rain-fed scrub land near Chennai, JFarm is an adaptive
agri-research centre spread over 200 acres of land, dedicated to the memory
of the Amalgamation Group’s founder, Mr. S. Anantharamakrishnan.
TAFE's Product Training Centre – a nationally recognized centre by the
country's leading agricultural universities is also located in this facility.
JFarm demonstrates how traditional, labour intensive, low productivity
farming can be transformed into a profitable enterprise through the
adoption of an integrated farming approach. Through this approach,
an increase in farm income is achieved by integrating various agricultural
practices such as multiple cropping, animal husbandry, agro-forestry,
orchard farming and other innovative practices. Integrated farming takes a
balanced approach to nutrient management by emphasizing the optimal
utilization of resources, recycling of waste for productive purposes and
low cost in farm input creation supported by mechanization, proven soil
and water management practices, appropriate crop and seed selection,
advanced crop production and protection technologies. The propagation
of this approach for adoption by small and medium farmers has made a
significant impact on making these farms feasible business enterprises.
JFarm's support to the farming community has included the launch of
large varieties of rice; the notable ones being J13 - a super fine rice variety,
J66 - an ultra-short duration variety, J18 - a super fine organic variety,
JR21 and JR22 - high yielding varieties, and the successful model
implementation of dry cultivation of mango. These varieties have found
wide-scale adoption across hundreds of thousands of acres of farm land.
JFarm has supported farmers by providing farm advisory services using
radio, television, news articles, publications and farm journals,
participation in seminars and symposia by government institutions and
personal interaction through farm visits and farmer visits to JFarm. It has
also established and manages a multilingual portal for the benefit of
farmers. It disseminates valuable information on pests and diseases,
cultivation of medicinal and aromatic crops, forest trees, trends in the use
of farm implements and equipment, rainfall data etc.
Manned by a team of dedicated scientists and agricultural economists,
JFarm has made a transformational impact across a large section of small
and marginal farmers in the country.
In more recent years, JFarm has concentrated on organic farming in line
with its focus on sustainable agriculture through an emphasis on soil
conservation, use of natural inputs, long-term productivity, increased
farm income, health and well-being.
The Product Training Centre, which is one of the earliest institutions of its
kind in India, offers multilingual training in operation and maintenance of
farm machinery and tractors, both at JFarm as well as on the field through
classroom sessions, workshops and field training for farmers, mechanics
and students from agriculture universities. The Product Training Centre
currently trains around 10,000 people on an annual basis.
JFarm Rajasthan
Launched in November 2016, this is an advanced model of TAFE's successful
adaptive agri-research centre in Chennai which focuses on the adoption of
new technologies, and sharing this knowledge with the farming community.
Spread over a large tract of land, JFarm Rajasthan hosts an adaptive research
farm, agricultural extension services, farm skills development centre and a
state-of-the-art technology demonstration and customer experience centre
at Bhawanimandi, Jhalawar.
This centre aims to showcase the latest and best in agronomy and farm
practices, latest trends in production, protection and processing of crops and
also the world's best in terms of farm mechanization and its adaptability to
Indian farms. The centre focuses on transforming Rajasthan's agricultural
landscape with participation from the farmers of Rajasthan towards
a bountiful future. It is in TAFE's DNA to go beyond the usual and add
value to customers by empowering them to become a progressive,
self-sustaining and prosperous agri-community.
Through the MoU with the Rajasthan Government, TAFE hopes to
partner with 900 agri-entrepreneurs, create 4000 jobs and touch lives
of over 500,000 farmers positively.
The Digital India Initiative
TAFE launched 'JFarm Services' – a mobile app based aggregator
platform, which facilitates hiring of tractors and modern farm machinery
for the farmers in Rajasthan. This free app available on Google Play,
ensures a fair and transparent rental process while ensuring quality,
dependability and on-time delivery of farm solutions. JFarm Services is
also available to farmers on call through a dedicated toll-free number.
The launch of the JFarm Services app along with the identification of physical
Custom Hiring Centers, creates a hub where farmers gain access to specialized
equipment and JFarm Rajasthan's agri-extension services that include
modern farm practices, technical know-how, high-yielding crop varieties,
crop protection, organic and sustainable farming, besides customized and
specially designed training programmes by leading agri-scientists.
