BENGALURU: The State Government has constituted a high-level committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner to look into the steps required to be taken to double farmers’ income by 2023, Agriculture Minister BC Patil has said. Speaking to the media on Monday, October 4, 2021, Patil said Rs 72.34 crore has been released under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) for holistic development of agriculture systems for doubling farmers’ income and the holistic agriculture system will be implemented in all 6,027 gram panchayats in the state in next two years.
Patil said food production in the state in 2020-21 was at a record high of 158 lakh tonne, which was 10% more than the state’s target and 2% more than the national average. In the kharif season, sowing exceeded the target of 77 lakh hectares and 77.2 lakh hectares was covered.
The department has adequate stock of seeds for the rabi season, he said. The vigilance wing has seized 1,394 quintal of seeds worth Rs 416 lakh and 803.09 tonnes of fertilizer worth Rs 145 lakh, Patil said. In order to encourage children of farmers in rural areas to continue their education, the government has started the Chief Minister Raita Vidhya Needi and till now, Rs 2.44 crore has been transferred through DBT to the accounts of 8,031 children, the minister added.