Given the low water storage in most reservoirs in the State owing to scanty rain, it is time for farmers to re-contemplate on paddy monoculture and opt for crop rotation and crop diversification practices, said Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa on Monday.
He was speaking after inaugurating a workshop for farmers on economic utilisation of water, held by the Bhadra Command Area Development Authority (CADA) and the University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), Shivamogga, at the Suvarna Samskruti Bhavan in the city.
Paddy is cultivated in traditional semi-aquatic and water-intensive methods in the command areas of reservoirs in Karnataka. The State is witnessing water scarcity for the second straight year and the storage in most reservoirs is low. Instead of water-intensive crops, farmers should take up cultivation of pulses and oilseeds, which will bring them more income, the Minister said.
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He said as paddy is cultivated by flooding the fields, the problem of soil salinity has been reported in many parts. It is necessary to create awareness among farmers on judicious utilisation of water through water users’ societies. Mr. Thimmappa called upon CADA officials and UAHS scientists to develop demonstration plots on cultivating crops with economic utilisation of water.
Addressing the gathering, C. Vasudevappa, Vice-Chancellor of UAHS, said that a cropping pattern should be worked out for the command areas in a scientific manner after undertaking a survey on water availability, soil quality and climatic conditions. Instead of flooding the paddy fields, it is necessary to popularise System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and other methods under which water is provided for the crops on an ‘on-and-off’ basis. When there is shortage of water in reservoirs, farmers should be directed to cultivate short- and medium-term paddy varieties and less water-intensive crops such as ragi, pulses and oilseeds. He also stressed the need to adopt drip and sprinkler irrigation methods in command areas, and to undertake regular maintenance of the canals to ensure proper utilisation of water.
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K.B. Prasanna Kumar, Shivamogga MLA, Sharada Poorya Naik, Shivamogga Rural MLA, R. Prasanna Kumar, MLC, Jyothi Kumar, zilla panchayat president, and others were present.