State eyes Rs 55K-crore investment at investors meet

Speaking after giving away Krishi and Krishi Pandit Awards for 2009-2010, he said the government had started preparations for the meet, which would help increase farm productivity.

“We want to ensure that farmers get a better price for their produce. A farmer should lead a content life. He or she should be proud of being a farmer,” he said.

He said the Opposition parties had been criticising him for his plans to present a separate agriculture budget. “They (Opposition leaders) also spoke lightly of my taking oath as chief minister in the name of farmers. But I don’t bother about criticisms. I know if I do not present a separate agriculture budget and if I do not give importance to agriculture, I will be doing injustice to the farming community,” he said.

Patting his own back for maintaining fiscal discipline, Yeddyurappa said the State had devised new models of revenue mobilisation in the last three years. The governments of other states were trying to emulate these models, he said.

Yeddyurappa said he would present a Rs one lakh-crore budget (outlay) in 2013-2014. “I am trying hard to achieve this,” he said.

Awards

Earlier, the chief minister gave away the State-level Krishi Pandit Awards to 20 farmers and Krishi Awards to 12 farmers.

The first prize winner of the Krishi Pandit Award gets Rs one lakh, second prize winner gets Rs 50,000 and third prize winner gets Rs 25,000.

Winners of the Krishi Award get cash prizes of Rs 30,000 (first prize), Rs 15,000 (second prize) and Rs 10,000 (third prize).

The chief minister also inaugurated the K-Kisan project, which envisages greater use of modern information and communication technology to help farmers increase productivity.

Under the project, all offices of the Agriculture department, from the taluk level to the secretariat level, will be connected through computerisation.