Pune, Dec 23
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said that the government was leaving no stone unturned towards making India the food basket of the world.
Addressing the Platinum Jubilee Conference of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (AERC) here, the minister said that the contribution of the agriculture sector to the country's GDP has been 18 per cent and the Central government was striving to strengthen this sector further.
"The whole world has come to know that India's agriculture sector is stronger than other countries, especially during the time of Covid-19," he remarked.
Emphasising the need to stop the indiscriminate use of pesticides, Union Minister Chouhan said that it is imperative to move towards natural farming and steps in this direction have to be taken forward with full vigour. This will add value to the country’s production, he added.
He further stated that the government is continuously working to increase the storage capacity of farmers and working on a new scheme to deliver farmers' products to distant markets.
Under this scheme, the state and Central governments are jointly working out plans to enable farmers to transport their products to other states and markets, he added.
The Union Minister said that the work of researchers should not be confined to the lab only, but it should be extended to the farmers as well.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan also said that the Central government has started a special programme Modern Krishi Choupal on DD Kisan Channel to help farmers.
This is a platform where farmers, researchers and scientists will sit together and exchange their views on the problems and new opportunities in the agriculture sector.
He further stated that information related to the agriculture sector should not be limited to English language only, it was necessary to be published in different languages of India so that the distance between labs to land can be bridged.
Union Minister Chouhan also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would launch the river linking project on December 25, which would benefit areas which receive heavy rainfall and those areas which face drought.
He explained that many parts of the country are experiencing floods while others are affected by drought-like situations. The special river linking project would help to solve this problem, he added.
The Union Minister also highlighted the credit facilities that the government has introduced to help farmers.
The farmers need not rush to money-lenders now and instead can avail of the Kisan Credit Card facility to get money immediately at low rates of interest.
He further stated that between 2014 and 2024, the government is giving a much higher minimum support price on agricultural products, due to which farmers were benefiting on a large scale.