Gujarat govt to extend area under cultivation: Sanghani

Vadodara, Jun 13: Gujarat government is mulling to bring under cultivation additional 3 lakh hectares of land thus capping the current area under sowing to 90 lakh hectares, agriculture minister Dilip Sanghani said.

"It has become possible due to the success of more than one-month long agriculture fairs covering total of all the 18,000 villages across the state," sanghani told PTI on phone.

The sowing for the Kharip season is already underway in various regions of the state including Saurashtra, the minister said.

Sanghani said the recently held agricultural fairs held under the aegis of Krishi Mahotsava was a huge success in its seventh successive year.

All the ministers and agriculture experts from the state universities, besides one lakh government employees, interacted with the farmers in the state under the Krishi Mahotsava.

Gujarat government in the recent past allowed the farmers to share water for farming purposes through participatory management, Sanghani said, adding, the state government has taken up a massive water conservation project, introduced scientific methods of farming and promoted animal husbandry to supplement tillers' income.

The ''soil health card'' is another innovative initiative which has helped the farmers to choose crops of their choice for maximising production, he added.

The policies of the state government have led to double the income from agriculture produce to Rs 59,000 crores from Rs 8,000 crore in 2003, the minister said.

PTI