Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said the state government is committed to protect the rights of farmers and work for their welfare.
Speaking at a pre-budget meet with farmers’ leaders at Vidhana Soudha, the chief minister has said farmers were facing lot of problems due to the prevailing drought condition in the state and the state government wants farmers to get best price for agricultural produce. “The state government is conscious about its responsibility for the welfare of farmers. We are working in this direction. The state government has launched various schemes for the welfare of farmers,’’ the chief minister said.
Stating that Krishi Bhagya scheme has received tremendous response from farmers, the chief minister said the government has constructed one lakh farm ponds under Krishi Bhagya scheme and it has set a target of constructing one more lakh farm ponds by March end. “There is a lot of demand for the construction ponds under Krishi Honda scheme. The government is contemplating to increase the allocation of funds for Krishi Honda scheme. The government has constructed 2,400 poly houses till now,’’ he said.
He said the state government has introduced online auction at agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) to ensure best price for agricultural produce and this method has become a role model in the country. “Agriculture ministers of other states have come here to study the online auction introduced by Karnataka. Online auction has been introduced at 156 APMCs in the state and it will avoid cheating of farmers. Whenever prices agri produce are crashed, the state government has announced support price. Recently, the state government has announced support price of Rs 450 for red gram, Rs 100 for paddy, Rs 624 for onion. The government has announced Rs 1000 subsidy for coconut,’’ he said.
He said farmers are demanding waiver of agri loans. “Farmers have availed Rs 42,000 crore through nationalized and private banks. The total amount of loan given through cooperative banks is Rs 10,500 crore. The total number of farmers availed agri loans is 56 lakh (33lakh from nationalized banks and 23 lakh from state cooperative banks and other financial institutions). The state government would waive of 50 per cent of the agri loan if the Central government is ready to bear the 50 per cent of loan amount,’’ he said.
