Date:11/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/11/stories/2008101153340400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Farmers to go on China tour

Special Correspondent

Rs. 1 lakh to be spent on each farmer for tour
The farmers will visit trade fairs, farms and markets

Bangalore: After legislators from the State toured China last year, the State Government has decided to send a group of farmers to that country to study developments in the farming sector.

The Government has approved the tour, and the first batch of farmers is expected to leave soon, according to officials in the State secretariat.

The Government will spend about Rs. 1 lakh on each farmer during the six-day tour. Tenders have been called to choose a travelling agency to arrange the trip to China. The farmers will visit an agricultural trade fair, the Beijing Huiyuan Beverages and Food Company, Huaxi hi-tech farm, agricultural markets and water-saving technology firms in Shanghai. They will also visit advanced farms, rice processing mills, the Yangtze river delta and research and development centres in Beijing and Shanghai.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and Agriculture Minister S.A. Ravindranath are expected to finalise the list of about 100 farmers.

A top official in the Agriculture Department told The Hindu that the Government had decided to take about 1,000 farmers to various countries, depending on the type of crops they cultivated. The tour would create awareness among farmers about the latest technologies available in cropping, harvesting and water conservation.

A large number of Ministers, MLAs and MLCs visited China when the H.D. Kumaraswamy coalition government was in office