Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 26 (IANS): Kerala should embrace modern technology in agriculture, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said Saturday.

"While several Asian countries are progressing rapidly in this sector, we have not been able to do," the chief minister said in his Republic Day address here.

"The need of the hour for Kerala is to see that we adopt modern technology in agriculture," he said after hoisting the national tricolour at the Central Stadium.

Chandy added that one lakh families in Kerala will be given three cents of land -- amounting to 1,300 sq feet -- before Aug 15th.

He lauded the pace of growth Kerala has achieved.

"Not long ago Kerala's growth rate stood at around 2 percent. In 2005-06, it rose to an all-time high of 10.6 percent," he said.

But he admitted that the agrarian sector had not progressed as it should have.

Chandy urged the young in Kerala to make use of opportunities by joining skill development programmes for self employment.

"We have seen that five million of our people are working abroad. For most families this has come at a cost as they had to suffer in the absence of the head of the family.

"We do not want this to happen to the new generation."