Agriculture Minister B.C. Patil said on Saturday that the State had 15 lakh hectares of fallow land. If all MLAs and other elected representatives took the initiative, these can be brought under cultivation.
The Minister was speaking after inspecting paddy cultivation activities of the Kedarottana Trust, headed by Udupi MLA K. Raghupati Bhat, on about 2,000 acres of fallow land under the Udupi Assembly segment.
Mr. Patil took part in the transplanting of paddy saplings at Kadekar in Udupi.
The Minister said that Mr. Bhat is doing the project which the government should have done. The MLA deserved kudos. All elected representatives can emulate the initiative taken by Mr. Bhat.
Organic farming
The Minister said that the trust is cultivating paddy on the fallow land organically. The government too is supporting organic cultivation. It has reserved ₹500 crore to promote organic cultivation in the State. The government congratulated the MLA for his initiative as it is a model project. Later speaking at a review meeting in Udupi the minister said that Udupi district faced a dearth of MO 4 variety of paddy seeds. The government will ensure that there will be enough supply of the same variety of the seeds to the district for the next kharif season.
Mr. Patil said that farmers can take up some farming activities under the Atmanirbhar scheme of the Prime Minister. Farmers should make use of the scheme.
The Minister asked farmers to go for mechanised cultivation.
