The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Varsities urged to play greater role in farming

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 17, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Varsities urged to play greater role in farming

Staff Reporter

Krishimela gets under way at the UAS, Bangalore

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

Fruit and vegetables: Visitors looking at exhibits at the Krishimela, which was inaugurated at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore on Friday.

Bangalore: Despite the phenomenal growth in production, the agricultural sector is now confronted with many more complex challenges, said Governor Rameshwar Thakur, speaking at the inauguration of the Krishimela here on Friday. These include the decreasing annual growth rate in agriculture, the rapid depletion of natural resources, unsustainable production practices, and unemployment leading to farmers’ suicides.

“We have come a long way since the 1950s, with a four-fold increase in the production of foodgrains, oilseeds and vegetables, a five-fold increase in milk and an eight-fold increase in fish production,” he said, adding that need-based technologies to improve productivity of crops and livestock in the State were also being given a boost.

Universities, Mr. Thakur said, “should play a greater role in the development and dissemination of improved technologies on a continuous basis”.

Dryland farming

William D. Dar, Director-General, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), said it was essential that small and marginal farmers in dryland areas are protected from desertification and the impacts of climate change through technology and high-yielding varieties.

“While subsistence farming produces no more than a tonne of food per hectare annually, enough to support five people, improved dryland farming technology can increase productivity by up to five times,” he said.

Farmers are most vulnerable in States such as Karnataka where 75 per cent of agricultural land is in the dry zone. It is important that farmers diversify the production system by adopting integrated farming, he said.

A. Ramaswamy, Principal Secretary (Agriculture and Horticulture), said the State Government had asked the Centre for one-time grant of Rs. 100 crore for the UAS centres in Bangalore and Dharwad. “This will be on the lines of grants awarded by the Finance Ministry to institutes over the past three years to improve research capability,” he said.

Krishimela, organised by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, ends on Monday.

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