Rajnath Singh seeks co-operation of NGOs and Co-Operatives for taking latest technologies to farmers
The Agriculture Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh has called upon co-operatives and NGOs to assist the Government in taking the latest agricultural technologies to farmers. He was inaugurating a ‘Krishi Vigyan Mela-cum-Horticulture Show’ here today. The Minister said that the country’s scientists have made significant advancement in development of technologies which can boost agricultural production and productivity, but it would be difficult for the Government alone to take these to the farmers’ fields with the desired speed. He said that State Governments also must play a very active role in the process. Stressing the need for diversification of agriculture, the Minister said that farmers should pay attention to growing fruits, vegetables and flowers, etc., as this can boost their incomes significantly. About shrinking land holdings, Shri Rajnath Singh said that making these holdings profitable is a big challenge. Also, non-agricultural activities will have to be integrated with farming activities to significantly increase the incomes of farmers. The Agriculture Minister said that the Government has taken steps to increase public investment and also the capacity of farmers to invest in agriculture. The rate of interest on farm loans has been brought down to about 9 per cent from 14 to 18 per cent. This needs to be brought down further. Drawing the attention of farmers towards indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers and insecticides, he said that they should think of ways to promote organic farming.
The two-day Krishi Vigyan Mela-cum-Horticulture show has been organised by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. The theme of the mela is ‘Crop Diversification’. The major attractions of the mela include- display of advanced farm technologies, demonstration of agri-machinery, sale of improved seeds, saplings, plants, fertilizers, etc., product display and sale by private and public sector agencies and farmer-scientist discussion.
The visitors can also see live demonstrations of various field crops, flowers and vegetables at the Institute’s research farms.