NEW DELHI, June 22: Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday appealed to the scientific community to work in the interest of small and medium farmers to bring revolution in Indian agriculture and make India the “Food Basket” of the world.
“Let us together make a roadmap on which not only the welfare of Indian agriculture and farmers can be achieved, but let us make India the food basket of the world, feed the world, and export,” the Minister said at the alumni meet of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa, New Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, he appealed to the scientific community to work in the interest of small and marginal farmers and bring about a revolution in Indian agriculture. He said about 86 per cent of the farmers here are small-marginal farmers.
“We have to make the model of farming such that farmers can earn their livelihood properly even in farming up to one hectare.”
The minister stressed the need to make India “self-reliant” on pulses and oilseeds. He said, “Adoption of technological advancement is absolutely necessary to increase the income of our farmers and to meet the changing scenario.”
We have to ensure that our agricultural policy and research bring a positive change in the lives of small and marginal farmers, he added.
In this important meeting, R.S. Paroda, former Director General ICAR, Ramesh Chand, Member NITI Aayog, Himanshu Pathak, Secretary DARE, and Director General ICAR also presented their views.
IARI Director A.K. Singh, DDG Dr. R.S. Aggarwal were also present. These experts had an in-depth discussion on the challenges and prospects of Indian agriculture and stressed the need for scientific approaches and policy reforms to address the problems of farmers.
R S Paroda said that the need of the hour is to upgrade Indian agriculture with the help of innovation and scientific research. We have to test and implement new technologies in collaboration with farmers, which will increase their yield and income.
The scientists and experts present at the conference also shared their views and resolved to take concrete steps to make Indian agriculture self-reliant and prosperous. They stressed the need to increase investment in agricultural research and development and talked about the introduction of new schemes and program to help farmers. ( UNI)
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