“After Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, an era of enthusiasm has been created in the agriculture sector of the country. There are about 86 percent small farmers in the country, to promote whom the central government has taken several concrete steps, including a scheme to set up 10,000 new FPOs with an expenditure of Rs 6,865 crore”, said Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar while addressing the Sustainable Agriculture Summit and Awards function in New Delhi.
Tomar said that today educated youth are getting attracted towards the Agriculture sector and the government is continuously encouraging them through various schemes and programs to join the Agriculture sector. He was speaking as the chief guest at the 2nd Sustainable Agriculture Summit & Awards organized by FICCI in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The central government is providing short-term loans to small farmers at concessional interest, increasing the limit to Rs 18 lakh crore. The central government has also focused on filling the gaps in agriculture infrastructure across the country, said the Minister.
Adding he stated “For this, the government has given one lakh crore rupees. The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund has been set up, while many concrete measures have been taken for improvement in the areas related to agriculture including animal husbandry and fisheries.”
Emphasizing the importance of adopting a holistic approach Tomar said that in the agriculture sector, instead of focusing on only a few crops, we should have a diversified vision for all crops, including increasing production and productivity.
Explaining the importance of millets (nutritious cereals) in the Indian tradition, the Minister said that the demand and consumption of millets is increasing globally. On the initiative of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the United Nations has declared 2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets’, for which preparations are being made by the government.
Underlining the role of technology in the agriculture sector, he said that the government has allowed the use of drones in agriculture, while the scope of micro-irrigation along with emphasis on natural and organic farming to reduce the impact of climate change in the agriculture sector is also being expanded.
On this occasion, Joint Secretary of Agriculture Ministry, Praveen Samuel along with many officials and entrepreneurs of FICCI and Yes Bank were present.
