Collector to submit report on farmers migration

KOZHIKODE: K Gopalakrishna Bhat, Wayanad District Collector, said on Thursday that he would submit a report to the state government on the issue of fresh migration of farmers from Wayanad to the regions in Karnataka and  other places for ginger cultivation.“We have noticed that farmers from Wayanad are again going back to the fields of Karnataka for ginger farming. From the part of the district administration, we cannot do much to discourage the farmers from taking this measure. The only thing we can do is to bring the issue to the notice of the government. We will soon submit a report to the government, so that it can announce further schemes and relief packages for the farmers of the district,” the collector said.Express,on Monday, had reported that despite suffering huge losses from ginger cultivation, farmers from Wayanad were flocking in large numbers to Karnataka and have already taken land for lease in various places including Kudaku, Shimoga and Mysore.It is noted that the huge amount of investment and the unfavourable conditions prevailing in Wayanad have left the farmers with no option but to look to Karnataka. It was the small-scale farmers who suffered losses in the last season owing to fall in the price of ginger.Though the decision of the farmers to take land on lease in Karnataka is a cause for concern, the truth is that Agriculture  Department is completely handicapped and cannot do anything to stop these farmers from doing ginger cultivation in Karnataka, said P Vikraman, Principal Agriculture Officer, Wayanad.Criticising the stand of the authorities, various organisations working for the welfare of the farmers in Wayanad said fresh migration of farmers indicates that the government has failed to address their concerns. “This shows that whatever measures the government has taken are not enough to change the current plight of the farmers in Wayanad and points out that agriculture has become unprofitable  due to the lack of support from the government, A C Varkey, chairman, Farmers Relief Forum, said.