The agricultural sector is showing sings of recovery after a long spell of drought, with most parts of the State experiencing normal monsoon this year. Sowing touched 49.39 lakh hectares on July 25, as against 34.59 lakh hectares recorded on this day last year.
Minister for Agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda said on Tuesday that the target of the department was 73 lakh hectares.
“Banking on the forecast of normal monsoon, the State government has targeted foodgrain production of 100.72 lakh tonnes during the year.
The State received 558.44 mm rainfall from April to July,” he said.
According to Mr. Gowda , there is no shortage of fertilizer in the State and 12.95 lakh tonnes of fertilizer has been supplied to the needy farmers so far, compared with 12.27 lakh tonnes supplied during this period last year.
Sowing of pulses is showing an increasing trend this year.
Compared with last year (5.48 lakh hectares), this year’s target area for sowing pulses is 12.13 lakh hectares, he said.
There is some good news for farmers who lost their crop in the kharif season last year, as they are all set to receive Rs. 694.12 crore crop insurance amount released by insurance companies, according to Mr. Gowda.
