Close on the heels of the concern expressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over Karnataka government’s tardiness, over the implementation of several Centrally-sponsored schemes, the Centre has sent a reminder to the State regarding lack of progress in implementing the ambitious National Food Security Mission (NFSM) scheme.
The Planning Commission has dashed off a letter to the State asking it to speed up ground work for implementing NFSM by preparing district-wise action plan taking into account the micro environment and soil conditions of each district.
Karnataka is among the 20 states identified for NFSM implementation.
The scheme was announced by the Centre at the last National Development Council meeting, which was specifically convened to address the crises in the agriculture sector.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had not attended the meeting though Karnataka has the dubious distinction of being the fourth worst affected states, as regards the incidence of farmers’ suicide.
The NFSM is being implemented by the Centre by investing Rs 25,000 crore over the next five years to enhance food production and to step up the agricultural sector growth rate to four per cent.
The Planning Commission, in its letter to the State, has advised it to consult the Union Agriculture Ministry and the Universities of Agriculture Sciences in the State while finalising its district-wise plans for the first three years. In this context, the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), which partially funds activities of the agricultural universities across the country, has asked for a support of Rs 1070 crore to support NFSM-related research activities in agriculture universities.
Increase production
The scheme, among others, aims to increase production of rice, wheat and pulses by 10, 8 and 2 million tons respectively by 2011.
Since Karnataka has eight rice growing districts and 14 districts growing pulses, the Centre has identified the state for improving production of both rice and pulses components, a senior Planning Ministry official responsible for monitoring the scheme said.
