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Agriculture department of Karnataka increases focus on organic farming
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Wednesday, 05 April, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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Keeping in mind the importance of organic farming, Karnataka’s agriculture department has planned to extend the organic village site programme to the hobli level, in order to increase the utilisation of organic manure for crop production.
It is now increasing services to farmers to transfer the latest technical knowledge to the farming community.
These include introduction of high-yielding varieties, imparting training to farmers to improve skills and knowledge to boost the agricultural production and productivity.
The objective of the scheme is to increase the agriculture production and productivity by adoption of farm mechanisation.
The scheme is being implemented with five different components, namely supply of hi-tech agriculture implements, and supply of newly-designed agricultural implements.
The Jaivik Krishik Society (JKS), a federation of organic farmers and farmers’ groups founded by the government of Karnataka to propagate organic farming, is all set to market organic products under the brand name of Jaivik across the state.
In the wake of the National Trade Fair 2017 Organics and Millets, slated to take place at Bengaluru’s Palace Ground between April 28 and 30, 2017, the agriculture department, in association with the JKS, hosted a two-day Organic and Millets Mela recently.
The mela was inaugurated by D V Sadananda Gowda, minister for statistics and programme implementation, Government of India, and Krishna Byre Gowda, minister of agriculture, Government of Karnataka.
It exhibited over 150 farmers selling millets, vegetable seeds, grains, organic juices, plants, herbal products, organic manure and millet foods, such as ragi. Over 1,500 visitors are expected to visit this mela over the three-day period.
Gowda said, “The idea of this mela is to facilitate farmers’ groups to network with consumers and market functionaries like retail outlets, processors and wholesalers under one roof. We also want to create awareness and encourage people to increase their organic and millet intake on a daily basis.”
“The upcoming National Organic and Millets fair happening between April 28 and 30, 2017, will focus on spreading consciousness among citizens on essential organic products,” he added.
Millets are the new favourite amongst the health-conscious. A keen interest is being shown in nutrient-rich organic products like ragi, jowar, vegetables, and most importantly, millets.
Millets have many qualities. Foxtail millet, ragi, jowar and bajra are non-glutinous and easy to digest with high levels of iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. Their cultivation is being encouraged, as they require less water, grow well in dry zones and have short growing seasons.
According to millet producers and farmers, these crops are an alternative for rice and wheat, and is increasingly gaining space in urban kitchens. Many visitors approached us to understand recipes that can be prepared with millets. They also enquired about the hidden health benefits of this high-fibre, antioxidant-rich, gluten-free grain.
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