Kerala - Kochi

‘Several factors force marginal farmers to leave land fallow’

KOCHI: A variety of factors, including rise in land value and the subsequent change in the pattern of land use, the investment preferences of the neo-rich and the shortage of farm labour, have forced the marginal farmer to leave his land fallow, K. Jayakumar, State Agriculture Production Commissioner, said.

Speaking at an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Tuesday, Mr. Jayakumar said that “leaving the land fallow was no longer fashionable but a necessity,” since the farmers felt that it was better than investing in agriculture and incurring loss.

He observed that with the relatively small agriculture land holdings typical of the State, farming slowly became uneconomical. “The farmer found it difficult to make both ends meet even after discounting the value of the labour,” Mr. Jayakumar said.

He proposed high-value farming as an option to retain farmers in the field. Mr. Jayakumar said that many initiatives of the Agriculture Department were half-hearted. The Agriculture Export Zone scheme implemented a few years ago was a complete failure. The Europeancommunity-funded markets set up in different parts of the State as a price stabiliser also failed to fulfil their purpose, he said.

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