The State will place emphasis on strategies for improving crop productivity and profitability during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2022-27) for driving agricultural growth rates, according to a draft Approach Paper to the 14th Plan published by the Kerala State Planning Board.
The draft paper, on which comments have been invited, underscores the need for the State's farm sector to embrace new technologies and attract the youth to farming and private investments in value addition and agro-processing. It calls for a restructuring of agricultural production and marketing, and tapping the strengths of the cooperative sector for agri-marketing.
''Kerala needs a transformation in the productivity of most crops grown in the State. A detailed analysis in the Kerala Development Report 2021 shows that yield gaps across crops are wide, whether relative to yields achieved in research stations or yields obtained by farmers in other parts of India. Low yields hinder efforts to raise farmers' incomes,'' the draft approach paper said.
Plan schemes, the draft noted, should better reflect the character of farming in the State, and should be oriented towards integrated farming schemes that encompass crops, livestock, fisheries and allied activities such as beekeeping and sericulture. Leaving land fallow and reclaiming wetlands for non-farming purposes should be discouraged. An accurate database of wetlands and land under paddy should be created for aiding better planning, it said.
The 13th Plan period, marred by a series of natural calamities, also had placed emphasis on enhancing productivity and sustainability in the farm sector. Adversities notwithstanding, the area under rice cultivation rose from 1.71 lakh hectares in 2016-17 to 2.02 lakh hectares in 2020-21. The productivity of paddy increased from 2,547 kg per hectare to 3,105 kg per hectare during this period. Vegetable production rose from 7.25 lakh metric tonnes from an area of 52,830 hectares to 15.7 lakh tonnes from 1.02 lakh hectares.
On the irrigation front, the State expects to commission the much-delayed Karappuzha, Banasurasagar and Edamalayar irrigation projects during the 14th plan period. The 14th Plan will also continue efforts to encourage minor irrigation.
