Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday that the government is taking steps to set up Price Fixation Commission for Farm Products to safeguard the interests of farmers in distress.
The government has allocated Rs. 1,000 crore for the Revolving Fund in the 2013-14 budget and it is ready to increase it to provide succour to farmers, Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
The Chief Minister was speaking after laying the foundation stone for an industrial area and district offices complex at Vemgal near here.
He also inaugurated the government first grade college building and stadium besides laying the foundation stone for several other projects.
Fewer profits
Admitting that the agriculture sector is becoming less profitable, Mr. Siddaramiah said that his government was committed to safeguarding the interests of farmers.
Migration
The number of rural population declined to 67 per cent and rural people are migrating to urban areas as agriculture is facing a crisis, he said.
Minister of State for Agriculture C. Krishna Byre Gowda has discussed with agriculture expert M.S. Swaminathan the ways and means to strengthen dry land farming, he added.
Jobs for locals
The Chief Minister stressed the need to provide jobs to local people in industries started at industrial areas and asked the authorities concerned to ensure this happened.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that efforts would be made to resolve the water scarcity in the region.
MLA Varthur Prakash presided over the function. Union Minister K.H. Muniyappa, district in-charge Minister U.T. Khader, Ministers Vinay Kumar Sorake and Mr. Krishna Byre Gowda and the former Chairperson of Legislative Council V.R. Sudarshan participated.
Legislators K.R. Ramesh Kumar, K.S. Manjunath, K.M. Narayanaswamy, Y. Ramakka, G. Manjunath, Y.A. Narayanswamy, D.S. Veeraiah and Nazir Ahmad were present.
Senior officials, including M.N. Vidyashankar, P.N. Srinivasachary, Chakravarthy Mohan and Rajiv Shukla, were present.
