From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Medial Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Jul 20: With farmers launching a determined campaign against genetically modified (GM) crops, Karnataka’s Agriculture Minister Umesh Katti has firmly ruled out giving permission for private companies for undertaking trials and research on GM crops.
Addressing presspersons after a meting with bankers and officials of the Agriculture Department here on Wednesday, the minister said action would be taken against those who had undertaken trials on GM crops in Bijapur and other districts without the permission of the Government.
The department had not given permission to undertake trials to any multinational or local companies, he said.
It was alleged that Monsanto has conducted trials on biotech maize in Bijapur and the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha has been opposing testing GM crops.
Katti said the no private firm has approached the government seeking permission to conduct trials on GM crops.
Reading out media reports about trials on GM crops, he said officials have been strictly instructed to act on such reports and asked them not to show any leniency.
Meanwhile a meeting convened here by the State Agriculture Department to discuss the issuance of a no-objection certificate (NOC) to undertake trials and research on biosafety evaluation on genetically modified (GM) crops on Wednesday has been postponed.
Farmers to get Rs 26,000 cr loans during 2011-12 _
As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, banks and cooperative societies would be lending Rs. 26,000 crore in 2011-12 to the farming sector in Karnataka.
The banks had disbursed Rs. 18,000 crore for the agricultural sector in the State during 2010-11, he said.
On the Suvarna Bhoomi scheme, the minister said 50 per cent of the farmers who had applied under the scheme have been selected for the financial incentive of Rs. 10,000 this year. Rest of the farmers would be given the cash incentive next year. A total of 21 lakh farmers had applied under the scheme.
The scheme, which has been criticised for being arbitrary and unscientific in its method of selecting beneficiaries through a lottery system, would be implemented for a five year period. It envisages providing cash incentive to small and marginal farmers.
There were 76 lakh farmer families in the State and of them 75 per cent were small and marginal farmers. As many as 8.82 lakh and 4.39 lakh farmers belonged to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories respectively.
The Agriculture Department had received 21.05 lakh applications and out which 9.38 lakh farmers have been selected through the lottery system.
A total of 1.85 lakh farmers belonging to Scheduled Caste and 1.03 lakh farmers belonging to Scheduled Tribes have been selected, according to officials in the Agriculture Department.