The Department of Agriculture plans to raise the total land under paddy farming in the State to three lakh hectares, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar told the Assembly on Wednesday.
He was replying to the discussion on the demands for grants for the department. The department would initiate a Statewide mapping of fallow land and plans a rapid expansion of upland farming in the State.
In the next one year upland farming would be introduced in 10,000 hectares of land, he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Efforts would be launched to convert as much land under single crop farming to double crop farming. At least 5,000 hectares of farmland would be brought under double crop farming. This year double crop farming would be launched in 2,375 hectares of farmland. The department would also put in place programmes to reintroduce indigenous varieties of paddy to the State’s farms.
The number of Krishi Bhavans in the State would be increased from 332 to 500. The department would also formulate a new marketing strategy for various types of crops farmed round the year. A new procurement system which would ensure fair prices to farmers would also be formulated. A sum of Rs.500 crore has been set aside for setting up agro parks in all 14 districts.
The government plans to set up 200 plant health clinics across the State and to give shape to 20 Kera Gramams. A seed bank to preserve the quantity, quality and diversity of seed varieties in the State would be set up at the headquarters of Kerala Agricultural University at Mannuthy.
ADVERTISEMENT
In school syllabus
Farming would be introduced in the school syllabus from standard one from the next academic year. The department would also set up a labour force, in groups of 25 workers, which is armed with diverse agricultural knowhow to tackle the shortage of skilled labour in the agriculture sector.
In order to bring to the State adequate technology for value addition of coconut and coconut products, the government plans to organise a value-addition policy workshop in December, he added.