The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Kudumbasree farm initiatives to be hit

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Thursday, Jun 19, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Kudumbasree farm initiatives to be hit

N.J. Nair

Recall of officers deputed to assist endeavour

Kudumbasree has won laurels for
the initiatives
The projects are
in implementation
stage

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Agriculture Department is understood to have decided to recall the agriculture officers deputed to the Kudumbasree Mission for planning and executing agriculture production enhancement initiatives for Rs.300 crore.

Agriculture Department sources told The Hindu on Wednesday that the decision to recall the officers now working with the Kudumabsree for supporting its endeavours to increase production, productivity and marketing would upset the ongoing projects on these fronts. The Kudumbasree has made many meaningful interventions in the agriculture sector to step up the production of milk, fruits and vegetables.

Projects such as Samagra (for increasing banana cultivation), Ksheera Sree (for stepping up milk production), People for food products, Nivedyam (for supplying plantain to the Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple), and Maduram (an apiculture project) are feared to get affected for want of technical guidance from the agriculture officers. Unlike other projects, the Kudumbasree has adopted a holistic approach to the initiatives and monitors all aspects right from production to marketing. The initiatives have won wide acclaim and started yielding results.

Also, Kudumbasree activists are associated with a project launched by the Local Administration Department through the 999 grama panchayats in the State to start paddy cultivation in 10,000 acres this year.

This and similar projects have been progressing in the right direction and department personnel have been lending creative support to these endeavours right from project preparation to the execution stage. Some of these projects which began in Thiruvananthapuram in a modest way are being extended to other districts now. Though the local bodies have taken the lead to start lease land farming, it would become significant only with the active participation of Kudumabsree activists. Active support and involvement of the agriculture officers is essential for the successful implementation of the project.

The decision to withdraw the officers may give a new turn to the ongoing tussle between the Agriculture and Local Administration departments over implementing agriculture production improvement initiatives in the State. The department had deployed officers in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Pathanamthitta, Thrissur and Malappuram. Some of them have already received recall orders from the department.

Others are expected to be recalled within a week, sources said.

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