Agricultural growth declines to 4.5 pc in 2014-15: Economic Survey

Agriculture growth has dropped from a high of 9.4 per cent in 2013-14 to 4.5 per cent in 2014-15, according to the Economic Survey.

Food grain production in Karnataka stood at 114.77 lakh tonnes as against the target of 119.13 lakh tonnes. The survey attributes it to long dry spells and excessive rainfall in parts of the State. But the corresponding allocation for the sector has been marginally increased.

But Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s budgetary proposals for agriculture do have a few silver linings. For example, a special package has been announced for drought-affected districts and a separate Micro Irrigation Policy of 2015-16 for water conservation.

Citing successive droughts in the last four years, the chief minister said a special package for seven drought-affected districts would be provided under the ‘Krishi Bhagya’ scheme.

While the project was conceived two years ago, Siddaramaiah, in his speech, reiterated that the scheme would be implemented in the drought-affected districts. Commissioner for Agriculture, Subodh Yadav, said that the Krishi Bhagya scheme would be implemented in 23 identified districts to begin with. “While I do not know what are the words used in the budget speech, it is a special approach to the drought-affected taluks,” Yadav said. “It’s not a package.”

Krishi Bhagya provides for drip and sprinkler irrigation along with fertigation and polyhouse facilties.

For Animal Husbandry, the government has announced a new scheme called ‘Pashu Bhagya’ under which, 33 per cent subsidy will be given to SC/ST farmers and 25 per cent to other small and marginal farmers who wish to establish cattle, sheep, goat, pig and poultry units. A maximum subsidy of Rs 1.20 lakh can be obtained from commercial banks.

The scheme will also help dairy farmers with short-term loans of up to Rs 50,000 at zero per cent interest from co-operative banks on the lines of crop loans for cattle feed and other maintenance expenditure.