What if your milk vendor also delivers packed millets at your doorstep along with milk? Agriculture Minister N.H. Shivashankar Reddy is considering introducing door delivery of millets on a regular basis in urban areas with the help of Karnataka Milk Federation.
“It is still at a conceptual stage. I will soon hold a meeting with the officials of KMF and Hopcoms,” the Minister told a press conference in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The intention, he said, was to ensure that farmers get remunerative prices for their produce while consumers get access to nutrient-rich millets at affordable prices without the role of middlemen.
Mr. Reddy said he will also raise the idea of dedicating some space for selling millets in Hopcoms’ outlets. He admitted that of late, millets have become unaffordable for common people though their growers did not get remunerative prices. This is mainly owing to the role of middlemen. As part of these efforts, the government is also in the process of upgrading 100 APMC markets, he said.
Rainfall deficiency
Meanwhile, deficient rainfall in 13 districts has resulted in the Agriculture Department getting ready to enforce a contingency plan of growing short-term crops in such areas, the Minister said. Deficient rainfall has also affected sowing.
As against the target of 74.69 lakh hectares for kharif, the State has seen sowing on only 49.47 lakh hectares as on August 6, which is only 66%, he said.
Deficient rainfall has affected sowing of various crops, particularly ragi, which has seen only 19% of its traditional areas completing sowing so far. Similarly, sowing of paddy (41%) too has been hit.
Drones to be used for crop and land-holding survey
The Agriculture Department has decided to use drones for conducting a State-wide survey of crops and the extent of individual farmland-holding, according to Agriculture Minister N.H. Shivashankar Reddy.
The Minister said that drones would be used in the crop survey for both kharif and rabi seasons. Already, a survey was going on on an experimental basis in a hobli in Haveri district, he said.
Use of drones will not only cut down the requirement of manpower as well as funds, but also help complete the task swiftly as it is possible to survey crops on 1,000 acres of land in a single day by a drone, the Minister said.
‘Elephant bamboo’ variety to replace eucalyptus
The Agriculture Department has decided to replace the water-guzzling tree varieties of eucalyptus and casuarina with a fast-growing bamboo variety called ‘elephant bamboo’. Agriculture Minister N.H. Shivashankar Reddy said scientists had told the department that the proposed bamboo variety could be harvested within a short span of four years and it was possible to get an yield worth around ₹3 lakh from an acre.
