The way land is used is vital

BANGALORE: “Agriculture is not the backbone anymore. Due to increase in agricultural labour cost and less returns, agriculturists are looking at other ways to find returns,” said Former General Secretary of Karnataka Red Cross Dr N G Narayana at the valedictory function of a two day seminar on ‘Land Use and Globalization in India’.“If one were to just travel from Bangalore to Mysore, one can find many agricultural lands converted into dhabas. This shows that the urban-rural population ratio has changed,” he added, quoting a World Health Organisation figure that predicts a 50 per cent urban and 50 per cent rural population spread.The two day seminar on Land Use and Globalization in India was organised by Indian Economic Association and Maharani Lakshmi Ammanni Social Science Research Centre.The seminar discussed topics related to agriculture and land use, industries and land use, land use for afforestation, Gandhian thoughts on sustainable land use and so on.“Our understanding of land use is very superficial. I was shocked to learn that 114 taluks in the state do not have industrial activity at all. I think every individual has to learn optimum use of land and a nurturing approach towards it,” said Jija Madhavan Hari Singh, IPS.Former Minister of State in the Ministry of Planning M. V. Rajasekharan, said that with such rapid increase in population, governments have to think of providing more security to people. “Gandhiji stated that policies have to be made keeping people in the centre. As the problem of population increases, delivering livelihood security becomes crucial,” he said.He added that food security and nutrition security are important factors . “Sixty eight per cent of babies are said to be born of malnutrition-prone mothers. Tackling this problem requires agriculture, and agriculture requires fertile land,” he remarked.