There was a healthy discussion over the cultivation of sandalwood, ‘rakta chandan’ (red sanders) and other medicinal plants at an interaction programme as part of “Moolika Dasara” here on Saturday.
Krishna Urs, farmer, said that he had grown sandalwood in his fields and after some years, many trees disappeared from his fields. “Someone had stolen the trees from the field,” he said, adding that the Forest Department enquired him over the stolen trees. U.V. Singh, CEO of Karnataka State medicinal Plants Authority, asked the farmer to protect his sandalwood trees as he protected his gold ornaments. Academicians from Horticulture University have asked the farmers to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with companies and said that the university would act as a link or facilitator between farmers and companies to ensure that farmers get remunerative prices for their plants.
Progressive farmers, such as Nanje Gowda and Shyam Bhat, spoke to farmers about the scientific cultivation of sandalwood.
