Karnataka Agricultural Policy - Institute for Social and Economic ...

Karnataka Agicultural Policy 2006
rebuilding the natural resource base. Restoration of soil health and fertility through appropriate
organic package including vegetative cover would be crucial. At the community level, around the
village alongside main roads leading to farms, on tank/canal bund and on common land will have to
be protected to provide sound environment support to agriculture, in addition to building up
vegetative cover at the farm level. Earlier, Satishchandran Committee (1993) had recommended that
there is a need to provide more focus on integrated pest management with the object of providing
protection at minimum cost with due concern to environmental factors. The integrated pest
management will include cultural, biological and crop rotations along with chemical control
measures. These should be emphasized particularly around cities and towns where vegetable farming
has become a major enterprise involving extensive use of plant protection chemicals. In the very
right spirit, the Government of Karnataka has come out with a State Policy on Organic Farming in
2004, and articulated the advantages of organic farming technology vis-à-vis green revolution
technology. The policy document has also recognized the principal requirements for organic farming,
provide policy objectives on organic farming and future strategies for promotion and revival of this
traditional system of farming. Here, it would have been sufficient to reiterate the recommendations
of this Committee, but emphasis need to be laid on major policy leads.
Specifically, the following policy steps could be implemented:
Incentives for Organic Farming will be provided for each farmer harvesting organically certified
produce of crops of more than 5 quintals.
Chemicals that cause fast degradation of land and their critical doses will be listed and the list
prominently displayed at each taluka level office as well as in Raitha Samparka Kendras.
Satishchandran Committee (1993) recommended that a drive should be launched for augmenting
production and use of non-chemical fertilizers suited to different farming situations. This would need
appropriate thrust on research and extension programmes.
Organic Farming will be included in the syllabus as a subject at primary and middle school level. It
will also be introduced as one of the compulsory subjects at degree level as well as Post Graduate
level in the State Agricultural Universities.
Organic Farming Systems will be identified for each Agro-Climatic region, scientifically analysed
and recommended through a special publication entitled Organic Package of Practices. The System
developed by Subash Palekar will be the starting point of this course.
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