Chitradurga (Karnataka) Aug 27 - Saying that the soil has been degraded of nutrients because of indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers, a meeting of farmers, agricultural scientists and government officials concluded that the central government needs to give subsidies on organic fertilization to ensure food security.

Organised by NGO Greenpeace and Sustainable Organic Initiatives for Livelihoods (SOIL), the main aim of the public hearing was to gather grassroot level responses to the fertilizer subsidy reforms proposed by the central government.

Bharatesh Reddy, district president of Karnataka state Organic Farming Mission, said: 'Every year the central government spends crores of rupees on chemical fertilizer subsidies. The budget allocation for 2009-10 for fertilizer subsidies is Rs.49,980 crores.

'Organic farmers who contribute to food security of the country with minimum damage to the environment are kept out of the subsidy benefits.