Kerala - Kochi   

Paddy farming to get a boost

KOCHI: Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran said here on Wednesday that the State government had urged the Union government to include the fields in Thrissur and Kuttanad in the food security scheme. Palakkad was included in the Central scheme after the State government and the MPs from the State pressed the Centre, he said.

The Minister was inaugurating the State Agri Fair 2008 at the Marine Drive here. He said the State government was planning to give a boost to paddy cultivation. The aim was to double the paddy production within a specific period. A pension scheme for farmers, as announced by the Governor in the Assembly, would be inaugurated soon, he said.

The fair will conclude on February 24.

Earlier, Mayor Mercy Williams said food security remained a big question in Kerala. The growth rate in agriculture sector was not at all satisfactory.

K. Jayakumar, Additional Chief Secretary, said the Agri Fair was part of the efforts to give more confidence to the farmer.

K.R. Viswambharan, Vice-Chancellor of the Kerala Agricultural University; K.N. Sugathan, Ernakulam district panchayat vice-president; Winnie Abraham, councillor, and K.K. Gangadharan, Agriculture Department Director, were among those who spoke.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Hearing on plea for CBI probe adjourned
Spiritual discourse
Flight cancelled
Online database
Bid to fell tree: Corporation for action
Paddy farming to get a boost
Quarry safety: panel to meet on March 19
Investment opportunities
Collector’s statement draws flak
Norms violation suspected
Land acquisition for metro soon

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu