Karnataka government mulls sale of millets through Hopcoms outlets

The government is drawing up ambitious programmes to give a boost to organic farming and bring down the expenditure in farming by encouraging Zero Budget Natural Farming.
The price of millets are soaring with the rise in demand due to its health benefits (File | EPS)
The price of millets are soaring with the rise in demand due to its health benefits (File | EPS)

BENGALURU: Keen to help farmers benefit from the rising popularity of millets, the state government is contemplating to start sale of millets through Hopcoms.

The price of Siridhanya (millets) is soaring with the rise in demand due to its health benefits. But farmers are not benefiting due to the menace of middlemen. “We want to encourage farmers to grow millets and help them get better price.

A proposal to sell them through Hopcoms and Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) outlets is under consideration. Such move will not only help customers get millets at a reasonable price, but also enables farmers to get fair returns for their produce,” Agriculture minister Shivashankar Reddy said.

The government is drawing up ambitious programmes to give a boost to organic farming and bring down the expenditure in farming by encouraging Zero Budget Natural Farming. “Soon, I will take a team of officials to Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh to study the Zero-Budget farming system being implemented there. We will chalk out plans to replicate it in Karnataka,” Reddy said.

Food Grain Target Fixed

With 13 districts in the state receiving deficit rainfall, sowing for Khariff season in the state has been completed in 49.47 lakh hectares against the total agriculture landscape of 74.69 lakh hectares. Sowing is expected to be completed in another 8 lakh hectates by the end of August. The state government has fixed food grain target of 110 lakh tons this year, Shivashankar Reddy said.

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