BENGALURU: Integrated farming, incorporated with modern technology is the way to sustainable and profitable agriculture, opined Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy. Speaking after inaugurating the four-day Krishi Mela 2024 organised by the Bengaluru Agricultural University at the GKVK campus, he said this year’s agriculture fair is themed around ‘Climate-Smart Digital Agriculture’ and is a good platform for farmers to become financially strong as it provides insights into sustainable and profitable farming.
More than 78 lakh farmers and more than 125 lakh agricultural workers are engaged in agriculture in the state. The state government has given top priority to agriculture and has distributed machinery and irrigation equipment with a subsidy of about Rs. 1,000 crore last year. He stressed that the state government has distributed crop insurance money of Rs 2,100 crore to farmers through direct cash transfer.
Further, the minister said that Hi-Tech Harvester Hub project has been formed and large-scale crop harvesting machines have been distributed, along with financial assistance.
Appreciating the system of the agricultural fair, the minister said that agriculture graduates should adopt self-employment and provide employment and guidance to others.
He also added that 75% of the people in the country depend on agriculture. “In 1964-65, food production at the national level was 45.4 million tonnes, which increased to 332.22 million tonnes in 2023-24. There are plans to take this to 437 million tons by 2047. The role of research by agricultural universities is also important in increasing food production,” the minister said.
Chaluvarayaswamy visited and inspected the demonstration fields of various crops grown on trial by GKVK and then flagged off a pesticide-spraying tractor equipped with state-of-the-art automatic machines.
About 650 stalls have been opened this time at Krishi Mela, showcasing latest technology and innovations.