Agro-ecological planning gets under way in state

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Highlighting the need for a paradigm shift to adopt policies from a farmer’s point of view to address issues in the agricultural sector, the Planning Board launched a new approach in the farm sector based on agro-ecological planning at a workshop organised here on Monday. Inaugurating the workshop, Rural Development Minister K C Joseph said that it was sad to note that the scientific community often dithers in solving issues that crop up in the agriculture sector of the state, like the infestation of disease in the arecanut-growing areas. “Scientists should understand that it is not the scientific aspects which propels farmers to go in for the cultivation of a particular crop but remunerative prices. It is the duty of the scientific community to give proper leads. Kerala has the experience of cocoa and vanilla, where bitter market realities prompted them to shift to other crops,” he said. He also said that at a time when there was a widespread trend to convert farm land for other purposes, the scientific community had a responsibility to prevent the drain of farmers from the sector.Joseph stressed that all policies in the farm sector should be evolved only after  detailed discussions with the ryots. In his presidential address, Planning Board Vice-Chairman K M Chandrasekhar said that a paradigm shift in the outlook to get the farmers point of view while framing policies was essential. “Farmers should be given inputs on what to produce and when as well as ways to bring down the cost of production. By cutting the cost, farmers will be protected  even in the event of decline in prices of various agricultural commodities,” he said. “Agriculture is the most difficult area in planning as it is vulnerable to all kinds of risks,” Chandrasekhar noted and said that bringing changes in micro-level was the key to the sustainability and profitability in agriculture.“Marketing strategies at both national and global level are also important,” he said.  Additional Chief Secretary and Agricultural Production Commissioner K Jayakumar, L G K Naidu, Head, NBS&LUP, Bangalore, FAO Consultant and Expert Committee chairman K Gopalakrishna Pilai and others spoke.