Services at all Raitha Samparka Kendras in Karnataka outsourced

Tenders called from private agencies to hire graduates

Owing to the shortage of staff at Raitha Samparka Kendras (RSKs) across the State, the government has outsourced services at all 747 units to private agencies.

Delivery of services at RSKs had been severely affected in recent years owing to shortage of staff.

The RSKs have been set up at hobli levels to provide information to farmers on crops, irrigation, cultivation practices, technologies available and market facilities.

B.K. Dharmarajan, Director, Directorate of Agriculture, told The Hindu that the Karnataka State Seeds Corporation had called tenders from private agencies to hire graduates for maintenance of RSKs.

Graduates in any discipline are eligible to apply. They will get a fixed salary of Rs. 15,000 a month.

A few graduates have already been hired and provided training on day-to-day management of RSKs. Some of them have been posted to Hassan, Chamarajanagar, Mysore and Chikmagalur districts where farmers commenced preparations early to take up sowing during the kharif season, he said.

Graduates posted at RSKs would keep accounts of seeds, pesticides, agricultural implements, demonstration tools, and items to be distributed under various subsidy schemes of the government. They would manage daily activities at RSKs and provide inputs to farmers.

Hitherto, Agricultural Officers (AOs), who are graduates in agriculture, used to manage RSKs and keep account of farm inputs.

Recruitment of graduates would enable AOs to focus on fieldwork during the kharif and rabi seasons.

“From now, AOs will focus on providing technical know-how to farmers about various crops and diseases during the crop seasons,” Mr. Dharmarajan said.

Bhoo Chetana

To create awareness among farmers about the Bhoo Chetana programme in rain-fed areas, the department had appointed trained field facilitators at the village-level to provide information about crops and soil to farmers.

Farm facilitators are lead farmers and their wages are fixed at Rs. 175 a day. They are available for service 25 days a month, Mr. Dharmarajan said.

Extended to all districts

The scheme, aimed at increasing soil fertility and crop yield in dryland areas, has been extended to all districts and is expected to cover 50 lakh hectares.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, has been providing technical inputs to the department for effective implementation of the scheme.