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The Dakshina Kannada unit of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene has taken up a mission of attracting students, especially those in high schools and colleges, to farming.

It is organising lectures by progressive farmers in educational institutions for the purpose. If schools and colleges gave permission, practical classes would be organised on their premises.

The first programme of the mission was conducted at the Pavoor-Kambalapadavu Government High School recently.

Billampadavu Narayana Bhat, a seed collector and farmer from near Vitla, spoke on farming and vegetable cultivation for about two hours. Mr. Bhat has been preserving and distributing vegetable seeds since more than a decade. All those seeds are traditional ones and not hybrid ones. Some students at the school were made to sow seeds on the occasion on Saturday. The sangha distributed 30 packets of vegetable seeds to students on the occasion.

Manohar Shetty, organising secretary, Dakshina Kannada unit of the KRRS (Hasiru Sene) told The Hindu that a government degree college at Kavoor and a private high school at Deralakatte have agreed to sensitise their students on farming. The sangha would cover as many schools and colleges as possible in a phased manner.

He said that after the first round of talk on vegetable cultivation, the sangha would organise talks on apiculture by apiculturist G.P. Sham Bhat. It would be followed by lectures by Prabhakara Mayya, a progressive farmer and president of Federation of Organic Growers in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikkamagaluru, on integrated farming. A scientist from the Central Plantation Crops and Research Institute would speak on making home products from fruits, vegetables available at homes.

The sangha has named the programme as “Vidyarthigala kadege raitara nadige”.

Mr. Shetty said that if sensitised properly, at least some students might take up farming in future. “One can lead a comfortable life by taking up farming. Instead of working under somebody, it is better to earn one’s own livelihood independently,” he said.