The first edition of the China trip last November had come under criticism from various quarters after it found that farmers of districts where the BJP had a strong base were favoured compared to their counterparts in other districts.
Agriculture Minister S A Ravindranath told reporters in Bangalore that a total of 1,000 farmers will be taken for the China trip this year. The final list for the June 10 trip is being finalised.
During the seven-day tour the farmers will visit farm fields and study the farming methods adopted by the Chinese farmers.
The total foodgrain production target in the State for the year 2009-10 has been fixed at 118 lakh tonnes against last year’s target of 108 lakh tonnes, Ravindranath said.
He said there was no shortage of seeds and there were sufficient stocks to meet the 7.2 lakh quintal requirement of seeds this year. Licences of three seed distributors in Haveri had been suspended after it was found that they were selling seeds above the MRP, he added.