Farmers are being encouraged to adopt advanced technology and scientific farming practices in the field of agriculture.
Bengaluru: The state government has given more importance to the agriculture sector by giving attention has to what projects should be done to double the income of farmers. The state government has announced more than ten schemes like increase in interest-free loans, Bhu Siri, Raitha Siri, Sahyadri Yojana, Digital Agriculture, Jeevan Jyoti.
In the recently presented budget, a total of Rs 39,031 crore has been earmarked for the agriculture sector. Farmers are being encouraged to adopt advanced technology and scientific farming practices in the field of agriculture.
The state government has taken complementary measures for this. It is working to double the income of farmers by adding value to agricultural products. Integrated and mixed farming is being encouraged, for which farmers are being given loan facilities and subsidies through many schemes.
Increase in interest free loan amount to Rs 5 lakh: Short-term loans of up to three lakh rupees were given to farmers without interest. It has now been increased to Rs 5 lakh. More than 30 lakh farmers are benefited by this scheme and a total loan of 25 thousand crores is being given.
Bhu Siri Project:A new scheme called Bhusiri has been introduced for farmers with Kisan cards. Under this scheme, an additional subsidy of Rs 10,000 will be given to farmers from the year 2023-24. This will facilitate farmers to purchase tools like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc. in emergency situations.
n Incentives under Raitha Siri Scheme: Karnataka is leading in the production of cereals. Therefore, the state government has come forward to give more incentives to the farmers for the production of cereals. The central BJP government has launched several schemes to promote the Sridhyayans. Inspired by this, the state government is also encouraging farmers to grow cereals. An incentive of 10,000 rupees per hectare has been announced for the farmers growing cereals.
Sahyadri Scheme: Under this scheme, Rs 75 crore has been allocated for the development of wells and canals for water conservation in coastal, hilly and semi-hilly areas. Grants are earmarked. The government has planned to develop 1,000 small lakes in the state under the ‹Sahasra Sarovar› programme.
Purchase of 5 lakh metric tons of millet: Rs 3,578 per quintal to procure 5 lakh metric tonnes of millet for the first time in 2022-23 has been earmarked which amounts to Rs 1,879 crores. Along with this, Rs 1,072 crore has been spent to buy rice from 75,000 farmers and corn from 40,000.
n Crop Damage Compensation Quick Deposit: Under the chief ministership of Basavaraj Bommai, Rs 2,031 crore has been directly transferred to the bank account of 14.63 lakh farmers whose crops were damaged in 13.09 lakh hectares in the year 2022-23.
State-of-the-art agricultural machinery: The government has procured 300 hi-tech harvesters which will be provided in a phased manner in the agricultural machinery centers already operated by the agriculture department to make the latest agricultural machinery easily available to the farmers.
Rs 50 lakh each for 100 hi-tech harvesters in the year 2023-24 and in the next two years 200 more harvesters will be purchased.
Digital farming: Rs 50 crore to implement geo-spatial technologies in digital agriculture in collaboration with ISRO has been allocated. A new program has been devised and using the information available from this project, farmers will be facilitated to take informed and appropriate decisions to increase their production including precision farming.
Jeevanjyoti Insurance Scheme: Rs 180 crore to the 56 lakh small and micro farmer families of the state has been planned. The state government has taken steps to provide security to their lives with the help of Jeevanjyoti Vima scheme at cost.
Emphasis on natural farming: The government has proposed to convert one lakh hectares of natural and integrated agriculture in the next four years in clusters of 50 hectares in each taluk. By this, proper market will be provided for farmers’ produce. Emphasis is on doubling the income of farmers. Through this, the government is constantly trying to reduce the suicide cases of farmers.