Drought-hit farmers in State lost crops worth ₹33,000 crore: Siddaramaiah

Farmers in Karnataka have incurred crop and harvest losses of a whopping ₹33,000 crore so far this year due to drought, erratic weather conditions, and other vagaries of nature, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here on Friday.

Farmers in Karnataka have incurred crop and harvest losses of a whopping ₹33,000 crore so far this year due to drought, erratic weather conditions, and other vagaries of nature, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here on Friday.

He was addressing a packed audience of agri fraternity comprising farmers, agri/horti scientists, and students of agriculture and horticulture at the inaugural of Krishi Mela 2023 on Gandhi Krishi Vigyana Kendra (GKVK) campus at Yelahanka in the city.

Of the losses, farmers could be compensated only up to ₹17,000 crore and therefore the net loss of farmers due to drought and subsequent crop losses has been ₹16,000 crore, he further said.

Commenting on the economics of farming, Mr. Siddaramaiah stated farming has to be made profitable and economically viable and that was the only way to retain farmers on their farms.

“Today, young children of farmers do not want to pursue farming and are aspiring to leave their farms for cities. We should make agriculture an attractive field for all. The University of Agriculture Sciences has a critical role to play in this context,’‘ he insisted. He said agriculture universities are no more mills that produce agriculture graduates year after year, but should be R&D centres and innovation hubs that developed newer, drought and pest resistant varieties of crop.

“Developing robust crop varieties are important especially when our State has been facing drought in every 4 to 5 years gap,’‘ Mr. Siddaramaiah observed.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said farmers in Chickballapur, Kolar, Ramanagara, and Bengaluru Rural districts were very progressive and growing their crops with limited availability of water. They were also exporting their produce to other states and thereby increasing their incomes. Our farmers in other districts too should learn how to use water judiciously, he said.