Separate Directorate soon to raise farmers' income: Basavaraj Bommai

Mysuru: A separate Directorate would be established soon to raise farmers' income. Work is on to implement integrated farming with agriculture related secondary activities to boost the income of farmers, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.

The Chief Minister was speaking at a function to felicitate farmers' leader Kuruburu Shanthakumar and release of Souvenir as part of 'World Farmers' Day' celebration organised by Federation of State Farmers' Associations and State Sugarcane Farmers' Association.

Governments over the years have been focussing on increasing the food production, but not on raising the income of farmers. "I have taken note of this problem. It is possible to raise their income through integrated farming and adopting supplementary income generating farm activities," he said.

There are labs to research on farm productivity, good seeds and fertilizers. "But along with agriculture production we need to think and plan for improving farmers' living conditions. Agriculture will grow automatically if the economic condition of farmers improves," Bommai said.

Food production is filling the pockets of traders, but has left the farmers in penury. The problem could not be solved unless farmers became the focal point of our planning, he said.

He advocated the need for good education for farmers' children to improve their life and said his government has launched Vidya Nidhi, a novel scheme for the first time in the country to provide scholarships for students from farmers' families.