• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

In the article “Tailor schemes to benefit small farmers” (Business Line, January 15), Dr M. S. Swaminathan has been quoted as stressing the need for convergence and synergy among farm-related programmes to benefit the most needy, the small and marginal farmers. There has been a deterioration in net sown area, gross cropped area, fertiliser usage and electricity consumption.

Economic viability of farming can be improved by substantially increasing the net income of farmers, ensuring agri-technological progress, and providing sufficient opportunities for non-farm employment.

Calamities should be converted into opportunities. A small farm management revolution should be brought about by the special agricultural zones. An integrated package of technology, services, techno-infrastructure and producer-oriented trade should be introduced. Also, intimation of common service centres to support decentralised production could increase farmers’ income considerably.

Jayaprakash T. V. Palakkad

More Stories on : Letters | Agriculture

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Stronger ties

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line