K.S. Puttannaiah, MLA and a leader of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), has urged the State government to initiate steps to evolve a separate policy for dryland farming.
He was speaking after inaugurating a seminar on farmers' movement, organised by the KRRS to commemorate farmer leader late N.D. Sundaresh here on Sunday.
Farmers in the northern and central Karnataka region were in dire straits owing to perennial drought. As a major chunk of land there was without any irrigation facilities, the farmers were incurring heavy losses owing to the vagaries of weather. The government should rescue these farmers by announcing a separate policy for dryland farming, he said.
The drought had also triggered socio-economic crises in the northern and central Karnataka regions. The rate of migration of rural youth to urban centres for livelihood was very high there. It was essential to undertake a detailed research on the problems of farmers engaged in dryland farming in the State and the impact of drought on the socio-economic conditions of people, he said.
The government should ensure easy access to loans for such farmers. To augment the income of families dependent on farming in the rain-fed regions, women members of the family should be motivated to take up animal husbandry, Mr. Puttannaiah said.
Remunerative priceThe government should fix a remunerative price for sugarcane. Apart from sugar, the factories were earning huge profits by selling molasses that were used in the production of liquor. The government was generating significant revenue on account of electricity generated from bagasse, besides Excise Duty on the sale of liquor produced from molasses. These factors should be taken into account while fixing the price of sugarcane, he said.
