GULBARGA: Minister for Sericulture Ramachandra Gowda on Saturday said the State Government had submitted a detailed proposal to increase the subsidy paid to farmers for rearing silkworms from Rs. 50,000 to at least Rs. 80,000 or Rs. 1 lakh to enable them to rear more silkworms to meet the market demand.

The Minister, who visited sericulture fields at Itaga village near Khanadal in Gulbarga taluk, said that the State Government had urged the Centre to increase the subsidy in the 11th Plan proposals, which are now being prepared.

He told farmers of the village that the Centre had to agree to any increase because the subsidy was shared equally by Centre and the State. The present subsidy of R. 50,000 was not enough to construct a large room to rear silkworms, he acknowledged.

Mr. Gowda said the gap between demand and production of the silk in the country was widening. The shortage forced the Government to allow the import of the silk.

On the problems faced by the sericulturists in Gulbarga district in marketing their produce, Mr. Gowda said a special bus would be introduced to Ramanagaram so that farmers could transport their cocoons to the market there.

Farmers using the bus would get a luggage rebate on the cocoons being transported, the Minister said.

Research station

Referring to the proposal to shift the sericulture research substation now at Kadaganchi in Aland taluk, Mr. Gowda said the Government had decided to shift the station to Khanadal village, where there was a good building and 20 acres of land was available.

On the demand made by the farmers to relax the conditions set by the Government for subsidy for drip irrigation of sericultural crops, such as mulberry, Mr. Gowda said the subsidy was being provided up to a maximum of 10 hectares. The Government had already decided to extend the area to 25 hectares and a notification in this regard would be issued soon.

Dues to be paid soon

Mr. Gowda told the farmers that the subsidy due to farmers producing vermicompost in the villages, which had been pending for more than a year, would be released within 45 days.

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