Farmers to be given hybrid varieties

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, OCT. 31. The Department of Agriculture Marketing has evolved a programme to provide new hybrid varieties of seeds to farmers for better and quality yields. The programme will be implemented in collaboration with the universities of agricultural sciences and the Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore. Making the announcement at a press conference here today, the Minister of State for Agriculture Marketing, Mr. R. B. Timmapur, said a meeting on the programme had been convened here on November 13. The vice-chancellors of the agriculture universities in Bangalore and Dharwad, and the Agriculture Minister, Mr. T. B. Jayachandra, would attend the meeting.

The intention was to provide farmers the results of research by scientists in the universities and organisations such as the CFTRI. Farmers would be taken to fields where the organisations had grown hybrid varieties. The organisations would be paid for the new hybrid varieties and technologies developed by them. The Agriculture Marketing Board had set apart Rs. 50 lakhs for the purpose. The department would have separate agreements with each university or organisation.

The department was constructing a wholesale market building with godowns at Singenahalli Agrahara near Bommanahalli at a cost of Rs. 65 crores. It was part of the Megacity Project. The wholesale market functioning at the ``City Market'' yard, owned by the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, would be shifted to the new building in two months after its completion. Special facilities would be created for selling fruits and vegetables.

`Raitha bazaars': Mr. Timmapur said the proposed ``raitha bazaars'' would be first established in Bangalore and Hubli. Later, bazaars would be set up at district and taluk headquarters. Farmers would be provided with a stall and drinking water apart from other facilities. Asked whether the project to develop roads to APMC facilities had been shelved, he said it was formulated by the previous Government. Although the department had released funds to the APMCs for laying roads, some of them could not contribute their share of the project cost. So, it was decided to shelve the project and the APMCs had been asked to take up the roadwork utilising their own funds.

Central funds awaited: Mr. Timmapur said the Government was awaiting Central reimbursement of Rs. 40 crores spent on purchasing maize from farmers at the minimum support price. The Government, the minister said, had not incurred any losses in the procurement of maize.

Although Mr. Timmapur did not make an announcement on the proposed increase in the revolving fund to Rs. 400 crores, he said the Government had sufficient funds to pay farmers who wanted to sell ragi or copra. It had incurred a loss of Rs. 9 crores in the procurement of potato.

A building for establishing a sophisticated cold storage was coming up at Chikballapur, he said and added that a building in Mysore and godowns at Bagalkot were being constructed.

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