Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday urged farmers to experiment, adopt new seeds varieties, use new technologies and test quality of their farm land in order to boost production and income. Tomar said this while launching the ‘Kisan Bhagidari, Prathmikta Hamari’ campaign which is being held during April 25-30, 2022 under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
According to an official statement, Tomar interacted with farmers who were present at Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in several states across the country.
The purpose of the interaction was to make farmers aware of flagship schemes of the government and assess the benefits that the farmers are gaining at the grassroots.
While interacting with farmers, Tomar outlined Prime Minister’s vision for the agriculture sector which is the backbone of the country.
He said the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is an example of how the use of technology can help ensure transparency.
While subsidies are given by states and central government, ‘atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) is necessary, he said, adding that adoption of technology, diversification of crops and maintaining quality in the export market is essential.
As per the statement, the minister told farmers that they should be willing to experiment and change with the times, they should be willing to use new variety of seeds, test the quality of their soil, join Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and use new technologies, including drones.
Farmers should also be willing to come under the protective shield of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
On natural farming, the minister said that it is being promoted and agricultural research institute ICAR is including it in the syllabus.
Tomar said that the KVKs and Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) are doing their best to take the developed technologies to the farming community.
He highlighted that in 2021-22, the export of agriculture and allied sector products was about Rs 4 lakh crore.
Union minister of state for agriculture Kailash Chaudhary said he was happy to note that some farmers have more than doubled their income in recent times.
Through this campaign, lakhs of farmers, a number of MPs and other public representatives as well as scientists participated through fairs organised at 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras and other agricultural institutions across the country.
In another statement, the agriculture ministry said that the government will conduct ‘Fasal Bima Pathshala’.
Tomar will chair the national level special programme on ‘Fasal Bima Pathshala’ on April 27. The aim is to make the farmers aware about key scheme aspects of PMFBY like basic scheme provisions, importance of insuring crops and process to avail scheme’s benefits in the ongoing kharif season 2022.
