<p>Speakers at a workshop on ‘Rejuvenation of cashew plantations and bee-keeping’ stressed the need for increased focus on cashew cultivation.Inaugurating the workshop, B. Ramanatha Rai, Karnataka Forest Minister and in-charge of Dakshina Kannada district, said that the district has a large number of farmers with small landholdings, who find traditional crops such as paddy unviable.In such a situation, these farmers should focus on horticultural crops such as cashew for their development, he said.Presiding over the programme, J.R. Lobo, MLA from Mangalore (South), said cashew has been helping farmers in the district for the past several years. Farmers can get good yield with minimum labour. So it is necessary to rejuvenate cashew plantations in the region, he said.</p> <p>Lobo also stressed the need for more focus on bee-keeping activities in the district.Yogesh H.R., Deputy Director, Department of Horticulture, said there were plans to bring around 750 hectares of land in the district under the cashew plantation rejuvenation programme.Rithesh Shetty, vice-president of the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, said that due to the shortage of cashew production in the State, cashew processing units are importing it from other countries. Farmers should give more stress on developing cashew plantations in the region, along with other crops such as arecanut and cocoa, he said.</p> <p> </p>