Indian Karnataka backs organic farming to reduce fertilizer use

The Karnataka government will encourage organic farming to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers in cultivation, Governor H.R. Bhardwaj said Thursday.

"The state government has set up an organic farming mission with budgetary support of Rs.100 crore this fiscal (2009-10) to extend the benefits of organic farming and reduce dependency on fertilisers," Bhardwaj told lawmakers in his address to the joint session of the state legislature here.

Under the mission, the agriculture department has enrolled about 52,000 farmers with a membership fee of Rs.250 per head and earmarked 71,000 hectares across the state to use only organic material for growing crops, vegetables and fruits.

"The government has launched Bhoochethana’ programme to enhance crop yields in dryland areas by using technology developed by Icrisat (International Crop Research Institute in Semi-arid Tropics), soil health cards, micro-nutrients and timely inputs,” Bhardwaj said during his hour-long address in the Vidhan Soudha.

The programme, under which 284,000 hectares of farm land has been covered across six districts so far, will be extended to other semi-arid districts, as crop yields increased to 40 percent per hectare from 32 percent earlier.

Karnataka has the second largest semi-arid area after Rajasthan in the country.

The governor also admitted that due to unseasonal conditions, delayed monsoon and flash floods in north Karnataka last year, the food production would be 10.6 million tonnes as against the target of 11.8 million tonnes for this fiscal.

"The government has constituted a Karnataka Krishi Mission to ensure better coordination among agriculture, animal husbandry, horticulture, sericulture and allied activities. A ‘Krishi Marata Vahini’ website has been created to provide latest information to farmers on arrivals and prices of farm commodities in markets across the state,” the governor pointed out.

As part of the National Horticulture Mission, a micro irrigation scheme has been implemented in all the 30 districts for optimal utilisation of water resources at a cost of Rs.127 crore.

The state government also secured the Planning Commission’s approval to complete irrigation projects in the drought-prone regions of north Karnataka at a cost of Rs.776 crore under the central government’s accelerated irrigation benefit programme (AIBP).