Staff Correspondent

This will help create awareness among farmers, says Shivaram

HASSAN: The former Congress Minister B. Shivaram has appealed to the Union Government to set up a Potato Research Centre in Hassan on the lines the one in Shimla.

Addressing presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Shivaram said that potato crop on over 37,000 hectares of land in Hassan district had withered owing to blight disease.

Poor quality of seed potatoes supplied by traders had to be blamed for the situation, he said.

If the centre was set up in Hassan, awareness could be created among farmers on prevention of such diseases and they could be supplied quality seed potatoes.

Mr. Shivaram appealed to the Union Government to change the guidelines of the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme so that all crops and areas could be brought under its purview.

He said during 2007-08, the Government released Rs. 14.24 crore under the scheme while the premium collected from farmers was Rs. 8.36 crore. This showed that the insurance amount had been fixed unscientifically, he said.

Mr. Shivaram said that in 2003-04, crop insurance of Rs. 10,600 an acre was given to potato farmers. In 2007-08, the amount was Rs. 6,600 an acre and now it had come down to Rs. 4,560 an acre of potato crop.

The cost of farming was increasing every year, but the Government had reduced the insurance amount, he said and termed it unscientific.

Mr. Shivaram said that farmers pay Rs. 2,797 an acre as premium. They had to wait for an year to collect the insurance amount of Rs. 4,560 an acre.

The former Minister urged the Government to fix the insurance amount at Rs. 17,630 an acre for potato crop.

S.M. Anand, MLC, was present.