Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar wants the state government to bring about changes in the policies pertaining to agriculture and rural development.
Inaugurating the Krishi Mela at UAS in Dharwad at the weekend, he said it was a matter of concern that the rural population had been decreasing and according to the latest reports the rural and urban population ratio had become 65:35.
“Hence, priority should be given to providing urban infrastructure in the rural areas and ensure scientific prices for agricultural produce. China has made remarkable achievements in this regard,” he said.
Expressing his reservation over the state government acquiring agriculture land for major industries, Shettar said the government should encourage setting up food processing units in rural areas and agricultural belt.
He said, setting up the agro based industries would help the farmers to get scientific prices for their produce. The government should focus on this aspect at the Global Agriculture Investor’s Meet scheduled to be held in December in Bangalore, he said.
Speaking at the inaugural function Karnataka minister for agriculture Umesh Katti said the state government which was providing subsidy on the purchase of farm equipment had decided not to pay subsidy amount to the firms selling farm equipments. Instead the money would be paid directly to the farmers.
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Under this system, the subsidy amount would be credited to the bank accounts of the farmers on purchasing the tools and machines.
The minister promised the farmers that fertiliser supply would be streamlined within a couple of days and arrangements would be made for the distribution of seeds for the rabi season through the Raita Samparka Kendras by September 30.
The state requires 2.3 million tonnes of chemical fertiliser and the government had distributed 1.9 million tonnes during last three months.
Highlighting the need for farmers to switch to organic farming, Katti said nearly 71,000 hectares of lands have been brought under the organic farming in the state in the last three years.
Katti cautioned that there were no possibilities of the fertiliser prices coming down in the near future and the Centre too was cutting subsidies on fertiliser. The fertiliser rates were likely to shoot up in the next 5-6 years. “Hence, it is high time the farmers went in for eco-friendly and economically healthy way of farming which is being promoted by the state government” Katti said.
The government is contemplating introducing an integrated scheme to improve utilisation of water resources and bring down the power consumption in the agriculture sector. The scheme aims at providing irrigation facility to minimum 60 per cent of the total agriculture area by encouraging drip irrigation. At present of 133,000 hectares of total cultivable land in the state, only 28 per cent has irrigation facility. The new scheme ensures efficient utilisation of water resource and helps bring down the power consumption by 50 per cent. A proposal had been sent to the Centre in this regards, Katti said.
The mela will have the exhibition of latest farm equipment, demonstration of their functioning, informative sessions on organic farming, integrated pest management, horticulture development, land and water management and agriculture marketing. Experts from various fields will interact with the farmers and provide them necessary information. Dog show, cattle show, flower and fruit show are the special attraction.