Kalaburagi
Three teams from the Center are arriving this week for the drought study in the state, according to Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy. The Minister of Agriculture gave this information to media representatives after reviewing the progress of agriculture and watershed departments in the 7 districts of the division at the Kalburgi District Panchayat Hall. The minister said that the total crop damage in 40 lakh hectares of agricultural area in the state is estimated to be Rs 28,000 thousand crores. The agriculture minister informed that the production target of 111 lakh tonnes of food grains in monsoon of 2023 was estimated to be 58 lakh tonnes of production loss due to drought. 161 taluks of 31 districts of the state have been identified as severe drought and 34 taluks have been identified as moderate drought and a total of 195 taluks have been declared as drought-prone. The central team will conduct a drought survey and submit a report, he said. 148 crores have been released so far in 2 phases. He said that a total compensation of Rs 116 crore has been provided to 1.58 lakh farmers of Kalaburagi district. Although the state received 29% excess rainfall in July, it was 73% deficit in August, so the crop loss has increased. In Kalaburgi district, the rainfall deficit is only 5%. But Minister Chaluvarayaswamy said that 11 taluks of the district have been declared drought-affected due to lack of timely rains and crop damage. Chaluvarayaswamy said that Krishi Bhagya Krishi Bhagya Yojana has been restarted this year and 100 crores will be received from the department and more funds will be earmarked from next year . He informed that 100 hubs will be set up with a reserve of 50 crore rupees for the establishment of a huge Katau harvester hub.
