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Udupi : Suvarna Bhoomi Yojane, the programme started by the State government to support small and marginal farmers has received adequate feedback though the project has failed to reach the estimated target.

Only 11,499 applications have been received under various categories of the programme against the target of 16,073.  

According to the District Agriculture Joint Director B Y Srinivas, the district comprises majority of the marginal farmers with 30-40 cents of land. Farmers who have up to 2 acres of land are entitled to the benefits, he said.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, he said that as per the provisions of the programme, a sum of Rs 10,000 will be given away in two installments of Rs 5,000 each through banks and cooperative societies.

The other major disability in reaching out the proposed target of the project is that the farmer who applies for the benefits does not own the RTC of the land that he has mentioned in the application.

There are nearly 1,54,000 farming families with about 2 to 2.5 acres of agriculture land in the district. The major drawback is the irregularities in the ownership of the RTC.

The total number of applications received in Karkala taluk is 2,897 and 5,359 applications was the target. As many as 4,764 applications have been received in Kundapur taluk though the target was 5,357. In Udupi taluk, about 3,838 applications are received. The target was 5,357, he said.

The programme offers financial assistance for horticulture, sericulture, bio-fuel, organic farming, agriculture, honey bee farming and fishing.As many as 4,916 applications have been received under horticulture category and the target was 4,176. In sericulture category, the number of applications received is 31 and the target is 40. Only 1 application is received for bio-fuel against the target of 1,670. Under organic farming category, the target is 3,341 and the number of applications received is 2,745. As many as 3,273 applications are received under agriculture category. The target was 5,011. For honey bee farming, the number of applications received is 394 as against the target of 1,000. Under fishing category, the target was 635 and the applications received are 139.

Srinivas informed only pulses and oil seeds are considered under agriculture category in this programme. “Pulses and oil seeds are rabi or summer crop in this area of the State. However, we had invited applications from the farmers for the pulses and oil seeds grown as khariff crop. Once again it is only paddy that is grown as khariff crop here. Paddy is a cereal. This is another reason that farmers are not coming forward to avail the benefits of the programme,” he said.

The applications are less in contrast to proposed target under fishing category that solely comprises of inland fishing in farm ponds which is a rare occupation here as most of the fishermen are dependent on large scale fishing. Only a single application has been received under bio-fuel category because no farmer is coming forward to grow jatropa and neem, Srinivas informed.

However, the district has marked better achievement in the category of agriculture and organic farming when compared to Kodagu, DK and Uttara Kannada districts. The number of applications received under these two categories in the district is more in contrast to some 1,000 plus odd applications received in those three districts.