The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Innovation will pay dividends: Thakur

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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Innovation will pay dividends: Thakur

Special Correspondent

State-level Krishi Pandit Award and Krishi Prashasti presented to 38 farmers

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Achievers: Winners of the Krishi Pandit Award and Krishi Prashasti at the award presentation function at the Banquet Hall of the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore on Thursday.

BANGALORE: Governor Rameshwar Thakur here on Thursday presented the 2006-07 State-level Krishi Pandit Award and Krishi Prashasti to 38 farmers for their contribution to growth and development of agriculture.

Speaking after conferring the awards, Mr. Thakur said Krishi Pandit Award and Krishi Prashasti winners had shown how an innovative and resourceful farmer could adopt new technologies to local conditions.

“The awardees are a guiding light to fellow farmers to make farming a sustainable and profitable enterprise,” he said.

Congratulating the awardees on their achievements, the Governor said the country was self-sufficient in foodgrains because of the efforts of farmers.

Karnataka was the only State to come out with a comprehensive agricultural policy when the National Development Council had approved the 11th Five Year Plan, he said.

“The State agricultural policy is farmer-centric.”

The policy aimed to double the farm production in the next 10 years.”

The policy would enable the State to become a significant player in the global agriculture market by increasing production and effecting higher efficiency and greater value addition to the farm produce.

He called upon the awardees to help the other farmers to get better yields and good income.

The Governor presented Krishi Pandit Award to 26 farmers and Krishi Prashasti to 12 farmers. The award comprises a purse, a citation and a shawl. Ten district level and 164 taluk-level Krishi Prashastis were given away. Ramaswamy, Principal Secretary (Agriculture), who welcomed the gathering, said that 75,000 hectares of land would be brought under cultivation in the State during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12).

Legislative Council Chairman B.K. Chandrashekar stressed the need for increased private investment in the farm sector to accelerate the growth rate and ensure food security for all.

Funding for farm research had declined over the years, he said and urged the government to revamp the extension services.

Currently, there was no coordination between extension services and farm research, and the State had the lowest extension intensity in the country, he said.

Referring to the programmes launched by the Congress-led UPA Government, Prof. Chandrashekar said the State had utilised only 40 per cent of the funds granted under the National Horticulture Mission.

The growth in the allied agricultural sectors such as fisheries, sericulture, and horticulture was essential to increase the income of farmers, he said.

The former Speaker Krishna, who was the chief guest, said many farmers had been denied membership of cooperatives.

The farmers’ distress could be eliminated only by granting interest-free farm loans by cooperatives and nationalised banks. Many farmers committed suicide owing to debt and slump in the prices of their produce.

P.P. Prabhu, adviser to the Governor, who handles the agricultural portfolio, released a souvenir.

Rajanish Goyal, Commissioner for Agriculture, and A. Rajanna, Director, Directorate of Agriculture, were present.

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