The State Agriculture Department on Wednesday reopened the ‘Agri war room’ in Bengaluru to help farmers during the period of lockdown, on the lines of what was done during last year’s lockdown.
The war room would help farmers seek guidance on the price situation in different markets for their produce including vegetables, fruits, and flowers. They can also get information on availability of farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, farm implements, and subsidy schemes, Agriculture Minister B.C. Patil said.
Farmers can seek guidance from the department by calling helplines 080-22212818 and 080- 22210237 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Two technical officers and a deputy director (agriculture) will monitor the helpline.
The government is also considering a proposal to form a district-level team of officers from the departments of agriculture, horticulture and sericulture in the days to come to help farmers.
However, farmers are apprehensive about not just transporting their produce, but also getting a proper market during the lockdown period. Their concern is that there are not many bulk buyers and they have to pay more for transport of produce.
In fact, some experts have been pitching for formation of cooperation of digital platform for selling of farm produce. However, the Agriculture Department is yet to act on such ideas.
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