The drought-prone area in Karnataka has increased from 63 per cent to 72 per cent of the total area owing to erratic monsoon and lack of drought-proofing methods.
G.R. Chintala, Chief General Manager, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Bengaluru, who made a presentation on the Potential Linked Credit Plan (PLP) for the State for the 2015-16 fiscal here on Tuesday, said “area under sowing has stagnated in the State”.
While the total cropped area is 120.59 lakh hectares, the net sown area is 99.41 lakh hectares, he said. Karnataka ranked second after Rajasthan in drought-prone area. In 2011-12, 123 taluks in 23 districts were declared drought-hit.
A total of 157 taluks and 64 taluks were declared drought-hit in 2012-13 and 2013-14, respectively, according to NABARD. “Forest coverage can be increased by making use of barren land, uncultivable land, cultivable wasteland and fallow land,” Mr. Chintala said.
Mr. Chintala said contribution of the farm sector to the overall GDP of the State has estimated to have fallen from 18.7 per cent in 2004-05 to 13.2 per cent in 2013-14. However, nearly 50 per cent of the total workforce in the State was still engaged in agriculture for their livelihood.
Karnataka ranks second after Rajastan in the country,
says NABARD
