Date:19/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/19/stories/2008111952670300.htm

Karnataka

Flower auction centre in Sirsi soon, says MP

Correspondent

SIRSI: Effects of globalisation cannot be guessed and farmers should be exposed to world market scenario, and value-added agriculture should be encouraged, Kanara MP Anantkumar Hegde has said.

He was inaugurating a one-day seminar on floriculture held under the auspices of SyndicateBank, Sirsi branch, and the Horticulture Department here on Monday.

There were good prospects for vanilla cultivation as synthetic vanilla would be banned soon, he said. Natural vanilla would have good market in future, Mr. Hegde added. Several research works had been taken up in the field of agriculture, but research findings had not been implemented, he said.

A flower auction centre would be set up in Sirsi soon at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crore, the MP said.

G.N. Hegde Muregar, president of the zilla panchayat standing committee on education, said that officials were framing policies keeping in mind only farmers who had big land holdings. S.V. Hittalamani, in-charge Director of Horticulture, Lalbagh, Bangalore, said there was huge potential for horticulture in the district. There were also good prospects for floriculture here, he said.