From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, Apr, 20: After continuous drought and the worst-ever flood havoc in as many as 15 districts of north Karnataka last year, Karnataka seems to be banking on a good, bountiful and timely monsoon during the current year.
Against an actual production of barely 106 lakh tonnes of foodgrains during 2009-10 against the target of 118.35 lakh tonnes, the state has now set for itself an ambitious target of producing 123.70 lakh of foodgrains during this year. If the state is able to achieve the target, it will definitely mark a jump of 17.70 lakh tonnes over the production of last year.
As of now, the agriculture department is quite hopeful of a good and bountiful monsoon this year. The foodgrain production target for the current year of 2010-11 includes 87.27 lakh tonnes during the ensuing kharif season.
In addition to the production of 123.70 lakh tonnes of foodgrains, the state has planned to grow 17.60 lakh tonnes of oil seeds, 9.18 lakh bales of cotton, 205 lakh tonnes of sugarcane and 0.85 lakh tonnes of tobacco.
This information was given at a workshop organized by the State Agriculture Department of all senior officials from all the districts to discuss the ways and means of achieving the target in Bangalore on Tuesday.
Karnataka State Agriculture Mission Chairman S A Patil, who addressed the day-long workshop, underscored the need for chalking out plans for achieving the foodgrain production target by treating farmers’ fields as fundamental units
Evolving need-based crop plans for individual fields of farmers depending upon the nature of soil, climate and extent of land, he said.
Any common plan for all the fields would not yield the desired results, he said pointing out that the conditions and requirements of each field was different.
Patil expressed concern over the huge gaps between the desired level of productivity and the actual yield levels and called for taking up a detailed studies to pinpoint the exact reasons for such an yawning gap. ``We must find out what is wrong. Is the planning faulty or the farmers do not timely and quality support,” he said pointing out that natural calamities like floods or droughts and vagaries of monsoon could not be factored into the plans.
He asked the two agricultural universities in the state to improve the yield levels of their crop varieties and also popularise them among farmers and felt functioning of the agriculture department needs to improve drastically.
"What is the point in setting impractical targets and making only speeches instead of resorting to action which can provide results?,” he asked.
State Agriculture Department Principal Secretary N C Muniyappa was also unhappy at the low productivity level in Karnataka and wanted the officials to build a partnership with all the stakeholders for working towards achieving the foodgrains production target.
"We must strive to achieve self-sufficiency in the foodgrain production and improve our yield in the production of oil seeds,’’ he said adding these goals can be achieved if farmers found agriculture to be a viable and remunerative occupation.