Karnataka Budget announces measures to strengthen post-harvest infrastructure
Karnataka has announced a package of measures to strengthen post-harvest infrastructure and dedicated employment centers in the state to encourage value addition and increase farmers’ income in the state budget. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who presented the 2023-2023 budget, also announced the withdrawal of the amendment to the APMC Act for the Protection of Farmers’ Interests.
The popular Krishi Bhagya scheme will be launched again in alignment with Mahatma Gandhi’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, with an allotment of ₹100 crore, he said. A new scheme called ‘Navodyama’ will be launched with an allotment of ₹ 10 crore to add value to agricultural products and to encourage innovation in agricultural marketing. Besides allocating ₹ 10 crore that will be made available to encourage branding of farmers’ products a la ‘Nandini’ to enable marketing of farmers’ products in state, national and international markets, Siddaramaiah said.
In order to strengthen Farm Producer Organizations (FPOs), 100 FPOs in backward talukas will be given financial assistance in the form of 4 percent interest subsidy on loans of up to $20,000 each, to be availed from commercial and co-operative banks.
Initial capital
Also, an initial capital of a maximum of 20 per cent of the project cost not exceeding Rs. 1 crore will be provided for the construction of warehouses, cold stores and other infrastructure to facilitate the export of floating organizations’ products. In order to boost exports of agricultural products, ₹ 5 crore is being made available to support FPOs, start-ups and micro-entrepreneurs in the field of food processing. An interest subsidy of up to 7 percent on bank loans of up to 20,000 rupees will be given to farmers to build lands to store their produce.
Further to the promotion of dedicated Employment Centers – Krishi Yantradhare Kendra – which provide agricultural implements for rent, the government is proposing to set up 300 hi-tech harvesting centers in a phased manner and 100 hubs will be established during 2023-24 at a cost of ₹50 crore, Siddaramaiah said. Our government expects Agricultural Market Committees to act in the best interest of farmers and to ensure a fair price for their produce. In its previous period, our government took many measures to strengthen member states in advanced positions and introduced the online market system, which is the first of its kind in the country. However, by amending the APMC law, the previous government weakened the healthy marketing network and created uncertainty in the lives of a large number of farmers who were dependent on APMC for their livelihood,” Siddaramieh said.
Before the amendment of the APMC Act, the total income of 167 APMCs of the state in 2018-19 was between ₹570 crores to ₹600 crores, which fell significantly to ₹193 crores in 2022-23 after the amendment of the Act. Moreover, there are many examples before us of private corporations deceiving and exploiting farmers in the open market. Our government decided to withdraw this anti-farmer law in order to protect farmers’ interests.