Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)
Udupi, Jun 24: Minister for agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda inaugurated Agricultural Diploma Institute building and hostel at Brahmavar on Friday, June 23.
Addressing the gatherng, Byre Gowda said, "There was no building and land for Raitha Samparka Kendra in the state. After I took charge, nearly 300 Raitha Samparka Kendra Centres have been constructed. The diploma institute started here in 2014. It was built with the intention of having an Agricultural University here in future. Ankola, Chamarajanagar, Ballari, Tumakuru, Udupi and many others have demanded Agricultural Universities. Udupi will be given the first priority."
Subsidy amount for mechanization in agriculture
"Agriclture should be mechanised at the earliest, as it saves 30 per cent of expenses and also gives good yield. The previous state government had released Rs 127 crore of subsidy amount for the mechanization of agriculture. But Congress government released Rs 455 crores for subsidy on mechanisation in four years.
Krishi Yantra Dhare
"Krishi Yantra Dhare scheme was introduced to reduce the burden of farmers. The objective of the scheme is to rent out agriculture and farm equipment at cheaper prices. It runs on 2:1 private-government participation. There are 315 such centres in the state, out of them seven are in Udupi. Nearly 10,000 farmers were benefited by Krishi Yanthra Dhare scheme," he said.
"After Congress came to power, nearly Rs 4,700 crore have been spent on agriculture. Earlier, the amount was very less. Additional funds have been released during CM Siddaramaiah's tenure. The percentage of spending on agriculture is increasing every year," he added.
"The state government has been spending Rs Rs 3.5 crore everyday for subsidy on dairies. The government is paying Rs 9,000 crore of additional of interest amount and providing free electricity to the farmers. In every angle, the present government is working in favour of the farmers, he informed.
Farmers are relieved due to CM's decision to waive loans
"The state government wrote to union government seeking waiver of loans, but did not get any reply. Realisng the Union government's stand over the waiving of loans, CM Siddharamaiah decided to waive farmers' loan worth Rs 8,167 crore in Karnataka," he said.
"Nealy 22 lac families are benefited and 80 per cent of the farmers are now free from debts. The union government waives corporate companies' debts of Rs 10,000-20,000 crore, considering them as non performing assets. But nothing for the farmers. Congress during its regime in the centre waived Rs 75,000 crore of debts," he added.
Criticising BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa for his statements on the loan waiver, the minister said, "Earlier, a committee met prime minister Narendra Modi to talk about waiver of farmers' loans in nationalized banks, but Yeddyurappa had no courage to uphold the issue in front of the PM. He has no guts to speak there. Because, there is no democracy at the centre."
"Congress leaders lag behind in publicity, but not in work. They work with responsibility," he concluded.
District in-charge minister Pramod Madhwaraj said, "This building for the institution and the hostel was built at a Rs 4.08 crore. Udupi district is more suitable for establishing an Agriculture University, because Udupi is an educationally advanced district."
Sheela K Shetty, vice-president, zilla panchayat; Nalini Pradeep Rao, president, taluk panchayat; Sudheer Kumar Shetty, member, taluk panchayat; Saraswati V Nayak, president, chantar panchayat; and Dinakar Pooajry, member, taluk panchayat were present.
Dr M K Naika, research director, Agricultural and Horticultural Institute, Shivamogga, welcomed the gathering. Dr Hanumanthappa, co-research director, Brahmavar Krishi Vijnana Kendra, proposed the vote of thanks.