Anthony Maria Immanuel, Joint Director of Agriculture, said on Monday that his department would soon launch an agriculture campaign focusing on profitable agriculture . He was speaking at a meeting held at the zilla panchayat here.
Integrated agriculture
Mr. Immanuel said the campaign would emphasise on integrated agriculture and encourage farmers to take up modern farming techniques. The farmers would be given information on increasing production, crop diversity, input cost reduction on small land holdings.
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They would also be encouraged to take up supplementary occupations such as dairy farming, silk rearing and fisheries.
Exhibitions
Interaction programmes of farmers with agricultural scientists would be held. Agricultural exhibitions too would be organised, Mr. Immanuel said.
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Presiding over the meeting, zilla panchayat CEO M. Kanagavalli said that implementation committees should be formed to make the agricultural campaign successful at district, taluk and hobli levels. Hobli-level programmes should be held at panchayat-level so that it reached the real beneficiaries, she said.
Rs. 75 lakh set aside
Mr. Immanuel said that an amount of Rs. 75 lakh had been set aside to implement the programme in each hobli. A taskforce had been formed for each hobli and a time table had been drawn up. Intensive publicity campaign for two days will be held in every gram panchayat.
Besides the campaign, a team of officials and agricultural scientists will interact with farmers in every gram panchayat.
The farmers would be given details of all programmes including ‘Bho Chethana’, ‘Atma’, National Food Security Mission and ‘Savayava Bhagya’, he said.
Srinivasa Rao, Chief Accounts Officer, and other officers were present.
Farmers would be given information on increasing production, crop diversity, and input cost reduction on small land holdings