Farmers from Dakshina Kannada district have sought subsidy for paddy cultivation.

Many farmers expressed this view at an interactive meeting conducted by the Karnataka Principal Secretary for Agriculture, Bharath Lal Meena, in Mangalore on Tuesday.

Participating in the meeting, Krishnaraja Hegde, president of Mangalore APMC (agricultural produce marketing committee), said that farmers have submitted a memorandum to the Government seeking a subsidy of Rs 25,000 an acre for the cultivation of paddy in the district.

This will help attract those interested to take up paddy cultivation, he said.

Supporting his views, Sampath Samrajya, president of Krishik Samaj, said that monsoon vagaries are also affecting the paddy cultivation in the district.

The financial assistance given to farmers on crop loss due to such vagaries is meagre, and the loss estimate is based on the conditions prevailed four decades ago. That should be changed, and crop loss estimate should be done scientifically in the current environment.

He also criticised the Government for not appointing adequate officials in agriculture department.

Dayananda Shetty, a farmer from Kuppepadav village, said that cultivation of paddy is not included in the national rural employment guarantee scheme. The government should take steps to include it in the scheme, he said.

Taking a dig at the assurance of political parties to supply rice at Rs 2 a kg, Shetty said many such beneficiaries, most of whom are labourers, sell such rice in the market at a higher rate. In a way, such schemes also contribute for the shortage of farm labour, he said.

There was also a demand from some farmers to include farming in primary education. This may help bring, at least some people, to farming in future.

Speaking on the occasion, Meena said the Agriculture Department has around 30 schemes for farmers. His department is trying to reach more farmers in the coming days, he added.

>vinayak.aj@thehindu.co.in

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