Labour Minister and Dharwad in charge Santosh Lad has directed officials to maintain a buffer stock of sowing seeds and fertilizers and ensure proper distribution, as the prospects of a good monsoon are high.
Chairing a meeting of officials of the departments of Agriculture and Revenue at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Dharwad on Monday, he said that farmers who were upset after last year’s drought were hopeful of a better monsoon this time, and the officials should ensure that there were no hurdles in reaching the sowing targets.
The IMD prediction of a good monsoon in north Karnataka had further boosted their morale, he said. “The State government has introduced Farmer Registration and Unified Beneficiary Information System (FRUITS) ID to provide all assistance for agriculture and the department has to visit every village and create awareness among the farmers on enrolling under FRUITs,” he said, asking the officials to launch a campaign on FRUITS ID so that maximum farmers benefit from it.
Because of pre-monsoon showers, farmers in the district had taken up early sowing and as of Monday, sowing had been completed in 36% of the land. It was mandatory for the farmers to enrol for FRUITS ID to get benefits of government schemes, and so far 76% of them had registered, he said.
Participating in the meeting, N.H. Konraddi, Navalgund MLA, emphasised the need for officials to inspect private seed merchants and check the quality of their seeds, to prevent farmers being duped through the sale of spurious seeds. He also called on the officials to be proactive in ensuring proper distribution of seeds and fertilizers.
Deputy Commissioner Divya Prabhu G.R.J. said that the district had 14 raitha sampark kendras and additional centres had been set up to ensure that seeds and fertilizers reached farmers on time. With the help of village administrative officials, seeding of the Aadhar number with the RTC had been taken up in rural areas, she said, adding that there was no no dearth of seeds and fertilizers in the district.
A taskforce had been constituted to keep vigil over unfair trade practices by traders selling seeds, she said.
