Gangavati town in Koppal district is set to witness the development of a technology park.
The park — to be a one-stop solution for paddy growers — will be the first of its kind in the country.
To be called a Rice Technology Park, it will link growers with up-country markets, function as a gateway to the export market and be a geographically indicator [GI] for the Tungabhadra Project (TBP) paddy and develop a generic brand.
It will also ensure efficient utilisation of paddy by-products and provide knowledge and technology solutions for utilisation of paddy.
The Karnataka government has approved the park, which will come up in Navali and Somanal villages of Gangavati taluk, and provided a budget of Rs 5 crore for 2010-11 for this project.
Gangavati APMC Secretary H K Chandramohan said the required land would be acquired by the end of March this year and construction would commence soon.
“The Rice Technology Park should come up within two years,” he said, adding that it would be a “unique park, a one-stop solution to all problems related to paddy, rice and its by-products”.
As much as 220 acres and 6 guntas of land in Navali village and 107 acres and 21 guntas of land in Somanal village are to be acquired for the project.
This includes 87 acres and 30 guntas of private land in Navali village and 52 acres and 37 guntas of private land in Somanal village.
A dream come true
The project is on course only because of the farming community of the region backed by the then agriculture marketing minister, Shivraj Tangadagi.
Tangadagi, who represented Kanakagiri constituency, the neighboring constituency of Gangavati, has lost his membership of the Legislative Assembly and the termination case is, at present, in court.
Bowing to the pressure of the farmers, the government constituted a research team, including Vice-Chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. P G Chennigappa; professor of UAS Bangalore T N Venkat Reddy; research associate with UAS, Bangalore, Kiran J N and research fellow of UAS, Bangalore, Raghavendra V G.
The committee submitted a report in 2009 recommending a rice technology park under public-private partnership keeping in view the benefits of one-stop solutions.
Based on the report, the Karnataka government approved the plan on October 27, 2010.
“Rice Technology Park at Gangavati is my brain child. If the proposal comes into existence, Gangavati would find a place in world trade and the ultimate beneficiary would be the paddy farmers,” said Shivraj Tangadgi.
A good idea?
Vice-Chancellor of the Agriculture University in Raichur V B Patil said the proposed technology park will help this region if care is taken.
“If we look at the project report and the present speed of establishment of Rice Tech Park, it seems more stress is being given for marketing of paddy and rice in the proposed rice tech park,” he said and added that if the production part was neglected, the park would be of no use within a decade.
He said he has written a letter to the government suggesting steps to be taken to make the rice technology park meaningful.
Dr Patil said if the alternate cropping pattern was adopted and, at least once in 3 years, some other crops are cultivated, there would be no threat to the land becoming barren.
Ellayya Naik, a farmer from Shahapur taluk, said a large area of Shahapur and
Shorapur taluks, which come under the Upper Krishna Project, have already become barren due to continuous cultivation of paddy.
According to him, in such a situation a rice technology park could not be useful to the region.
He said the government has already banned paddy cultivation in the UKP area. The farmers were cultivating paddy by violating instructions and the ban.
Another farmer Rayan Gowda Vathar of Rajankollur village of Shorapur taluk, coming under UKP belt, said agents of Gangavati traders and Talikoti traders come to their villages and purchase paddy from them.
Even if Rice Technology park is established, the same thing would continue, he said.
He said the park would be helpful if the farmers were given the benefit of approaching the Rice Tech Park and trade their product directly.
Gulbarga Regional Commissioner Rajanish Goel said all efforts would be made to involve all those concerned to make the project meaningful.
Rice mill owner Suri Babu of Gangavati said the government has already delayed the project.
He said it would help both the trading community and farming community.