The Hindu : Kerala / Kottayam News : Minister seeks close cooperation between farm department, local bodies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 15, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Kottayam

Minister seeks close cooperation between farm department, local bodies

Staff Reporter

Call to adopt modern agri practices

KOTTAYAM: The Minister for Agriculture, K.R. Gauri, has called for close cooperation between the Agriculture Department and panchayati raj bodies for effective implementation of various projects.

Inaugurating a seminar on organic farming and launching of various State-sponsored schemes here on Friday, she pointed out that nearly 75 per cent of the funds allocated for agriculture purposes was being channelled through the local self-government institutions. This situation has resulted in an acute resource crunch for the department which used to oversee the implementation of various programmes.

A close cooperation between the department and the local bodies was the only way out of the imbroglio, she said.

Ms. Gauri said that there was some substance in the general perception that the functioning of the departmental officials was not people-friendly, and called upon the bureaucrats to strive to change the situation. What was needed was activities which would encourage the farming community to stick to their profession and to empower them to face the challenges posed by the globalisation process, she said.

The Minister stressed the need to adopt modern agricultural practices where organic farming was the buzzword.

K. Narayana Kurup, MLA, presided. P.C. George, Thomas Chazhikkadan and Stephen George, all MLAs, the district panchayat president, Ajitha Sabu, the municipal chairman, B. Gopakumar, and others spoke on the occasion.

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Minister seeks close cooperation between farm department, local bodies