Bangalore: DVS Regime Scores Big by Signing MoUs Worth Rs 53K Cr at Agri Summit


Bangalore: DVS Regime Scores Big by Signing MoUs Worth Rs 53K Cr at Agri Summit

Gabriel Vaz
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Dec 1: Undaunted by the protests from farmers and their organisations, the D V Sadananda Gowda ministry scored big by going ahead with the two-day maiden global agribusiness and food processing summit which opened in Bangalore on Thursday by signing memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth over an impressive Rs 53,000 crore investment in agriculture and allied sectors.

As many as 31 companies came forward to sign agreements were inked at the state’s maiden global agribusiness and food processing summit here in the presence of Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda as Karnataka sought to showcase opportunities in the areas.

However, Congress Opposition leader in the Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah stayed away from the inaugural session. With the absence of central leaders, who were supposed to attend the inaugural session, the State Cabinet ministers shared the dais with Chief Minister.

Even State’s Home and Transport Minister R Ashok, Cooperation and Agriculture Marketing Minister Laxman Savadi and MP K Kasturirangan too remained absent. The reason for their absence was not immediately known.

Ministers V S Acharya, S A Ravindranath, Revu Naik Belamagi, Anand Asnotikar, Basavaraj Bommai, C C Patil, B N Bache Gowda, Murugesh Nirani, C P Yogeshwar and Renukacharya were present. Chief Secretary S V Ranganath and officials from the Agriculture Department too were present.


31 Companies Signed MoUs

Among the major investments include those from big-ticket companies like Harold Doan and Associates, Srei Infrastructure Finance (Rs 15,000 crore each), Wadhwan Mega Infrastructure (Rs 10,000 crore), Welspun Infratech (Rs 5000 crore) and MARG Limited (Rs 4,000 crore).

The 31 companies, which signed the MoUs, proposed to invest in different areas, including agribusiness and post—harvest infrastructure, agro industrial clusters, floriculture, horticulture and food processing to the tune of Rs 53,724.5 crore.

In addition, it was announced that State Bank of India has agreed to finance up to Rs 40,000 crore for agribusiness projects in the state.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd vice chairman Anand Mahindra was the guest of honour at the hour-long opening session attended by about 1,000 delegates.

France, Israel and the Netherlands are among the leading countries participating in the summit to showcase their farming technologies and products.

“As agriculture and farmers’ welfare are main priorities of our government, the agri-business summit is intended to attract domestic and overseas investments in the farm sector and food processing,” the Chief Minister said in his presidential address.

In the run—up to the summit, the state government has come out with an agriculture business development policy to attract investments in the sector, which accounts for 16 per cent of the state’s gross domestic product.

“The main objective of the summit is to ensure sustainable growth in the sector with avenues to generate more income to the farming community through productivity, access to markets and remunerative prices,” Gowda observed.

“We are the first state in the country to have a separate budget for the agriculture sector with an outlay of Rs.17,857 crore in this fiscal (2011-12). About Rs 1,000 crore has been earmarked for providing Rs 10,000 each to one million farmers to rejuvenate their lands,” he asserted.

The Chief Minister explained that the new policy envisages comprehensive development of agriculture and allied sectors, extending linkages between agriculture and industries across the state and procuring latest technology and capital from domestic and overseas investors in the sector.


Agriculture Sector to be made Profitable

“We are committed to make the agriculture sector a profitable occupation by attracting private investment through the summit,” the Chief Minister said driving home the point that Karnataka was one of the few states in the country which escaped soil deterioration due to natural interventions and judicious use of land.

The state has rich soil nutrients, including manganese, potassium, sulphur and nitrogen, he explained.

At the inaugural function, farmers raised slogans against the two-day meet alleging thst pledging of thousands of acres of arable land to multinational and private companies by the government and highlighted the “adverse impact” on their entry into the farm sector.

Trying to allay the fears of the farmers, the Chief Minister said Karnataka had a record agriculture production of 139 million tonnes during 2010-11 and the State was bestowed with the Krishi Karman Award for the highest production of coarse cereals by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

''This achievement is despite the fact that around 70% of the State of the cultivated area is rainfed,” he said pointing out that many schemes launched in the State as well as through the support of the Government of India had helped in achieving a growth rate of 6 percent during the last year.


Police Detain Raitha Sangha Activists

The police detained a group of activists of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) for shouting anti-State Government slogans against holding the Global Agribusiness and Food Processing Summit-2011 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre.

As soon the inaugural programme commenced, a group of five to six KRSS activists shouted slogans and threw papers at the delegates at the venue. Immediately, the police detained activists and taken them out of the hall.

Tight police security was maintained at the entrance of the BIEC as well as at the inaugural session hall. The police stopped farmers from entering into the venue to prevent any untoward incidents.

  

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Comment on this article

  • T.K. HAMZA, Kushalnagar

    Fri, Dec 02 2011

    KOTI KOTIYA YOJANEGALU, KELAVE KELAVU NUNGANNAGALU....

    DisAgree [2] Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • ROBOT KEM, INDIA

    Fri, Dec 02 2011

    FDI/CORRUPTION/BLACK MONEY....... by central government is not acceptable to India -PEOPLE/farmers and retailers will be affected.

    FDI/CORRUPTION/BLACK MONEY...... by Karnataka government is acceptable to Karnataka.

    Because Karnataka is........INDIA!!

    All should pray
    GOD SAVE OUR MOTHERLAND

    DisAgree [9] Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • Vincy, shamboor/Bangkok

    Fri, Dec 02 2011

    The event ‘two-day maiden global agribusiness and food processing summit’ is an excellent job by DVS government .The problem here is the message and schemes like this are not reached to the villages affectively. The party workers at village panchayat level will support this scheme on party basis so half of the people never get information of the facilities and benefits of the projects. Only a certain community and only certain politically active number of people will reap the scheme on time. Take the example of daily rozgar yojana where many poor farmers and many with little land are not aware of the schemes and not informed to submit the photos and others details to apply for the allowances/wages granted by the government. For the guaranteed daily minimum wages schemes the Party workers of the present the government simply asked the particular community people to submit pictures of the plots where some work is done or under process and many who really worked are not included and never informed about the scheme. That means crores of tax payers money is spent on these schemes and does not reach the poor man’s pocket.

    DisAgree [1] Agree [1] Reply Report Abuse

  • Dr S Kamath , Mumbai

    Fri, Dec 02 2011

    One of the Drawback of the Indian Public us not able to understand the pros and Cons of any Project .Now this Agri Investment by Companies is very good for the development of the state this will increase the Crop Production ,Good harvesting Practises,Proper utilisation of Food products including cold storage .One example With the efforts of karnataka Govt now Koppal has gone ahead of Maharastra in terms of Pomegranate( Dalimb or Anar) exports .I dont understand why there is Protest by Raita Sangha?

    DisAgree [1] Agree [7] Reply Report Abuse

  • ISMAIL.K.PERINJE, PERINJE-YANBU/KSA

    Fri, Dec 02 2011

    The BJP govt of Karnataka, on one hand grabs fertile agriculture land in the name 'development'On the other hand it solicits agro-investment from non agriculturists!Farmers dying for not able to repay loans but DVS Govt even can't offer lip service to farmers,arranges agri-business meet to fool the public.

    DisAgree [3] Agree [3] Reply Report Abuse

  • Vazir, Bangalore

    Thu, Dec 01 2011

    I hope the MoUs signed at Sadananda Gowda's Agri Summit do really materialise and the farmers actually stand to gain unlike the Rs 5 lakh crore investment expected at Yeddyurappa's Global Investors Meet, bulk of which vanished in thin air like the Yeddy regime with nobody benefitting!

    DisAgree [9] Agree [1] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Mangalore/Mapusa/ Mumbai

    Thu, Dec 01 2011

    What is the logic for opposing FDI in Retail?

    DisAgree [8] Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • Gerald, modankap - bantval

    Thu, Dec 01 2011

    THE SAME FUNCIONS, SAME PROMISESM, SAME COLLAGTE SMILE, - THIS MGHT BE ONE MORE GOTALA IN THE FUTURE-WHO KNOWS..... JAI HOO

    DisAgree [10] Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • Louis, Kuwait

    Thu, Dec 01 2011

    Good work by DVS. He supports central in FDI. In centre BJP is protesting coz that is there policy protesting all developmental work of centre.

    DisAgree [10] Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • ISMAIL.K.PERINJE, PERINJE-YANBU/KSA

    Thu, Dec 01 2011

    I request GOVT OF KARNATAKA to release "WHITE PAPER" on last GIM function.It is a joke and such kind of meet only misguides public.Reddy's about RS 45,000 crores investment for Brahmini Steel plant in Karnataka gone for astray?Govt need to give progress rte port periodically which it signed MOU with investors or MNCs.

    DisAgree [7] Agree [5] Reply Report Abuse


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Title: Bangalore: DVS Regime Scores Big by Signing MoUs Worth Rs 53K Cr at Agri Summit



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