K`taka scheme for small, marginal farmers

Suvarna Bhoomi (golden land), a new scheme launched by the Karnataka government this financial year, is likely to benefit the poor from among the estimated 329,000 small and micro farmers in Mysore district during 2011-12.

Of them, 53,000 farmers belong to scheduled castes and 25,000 farmers to schedule tribes groups.

The new scheme has been launched with the objective of encouraging poor farmers to take up cultivation of high crop and income-yielding crops instead of low-income yielding ones and other farm-related activities and improve their economic condition.

Under the scheme, each such family can take up any one of the activities related to horiticulture, sericulture, bio-fuel, organic farming, high-yielding pulses, oil seeds, BT cotton, bee-keeping or fishery. The scheme will cover only those cultivating in rain-fed areas and not those benefitting from irrigational facilities. The farmers should own lands in their own names.

Only small and micro farmers having lands less than five acres will be covered under the scheme. They will be given a financial help of Rs 5,000 per acre in two instalments, for a maximum of two acres, through banks or co-operative societies.

The second instalment will be released only after ensuring that the money released in the first instance has been utilised for which it was released. If the amount is found to have been misused, the farmer will not be eligible for any help in the coming three years.

Committees have been formed at the district level under the chairmanship of the deputy commissioner and tahsildar as the chairman at the taluk level to supervise its implementation. A district-level officer is also appointed as the nodal officer for each taluk.

Applications for financial assistance will be issued from April 12, and April 25 is the last date for submission the application. Beneficiaries will be selected with each taluk as a unit. If the applications exceed the target numbers, then the selection of beneficiaries will be through lottery process, says Joint Director of Agriculture.