Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh is a busy nay harassed man these days. He distributes his hours among various activities such as visiting TV studios, writing letters to MPs and touring states enumerating the two years’ of achievements of his ministry.
He participated in Hello Kisan programme on DD Kisan channel and fielded questions straight from the farmers from across the states. Later he wrote letter to all the MPs exhorting them to monitor pulse production in their respective areas.
And later he was busy attending public meeting in Bihar as told by his personal assistant Dipak who keeps his mobile phone. On pulse production he reminded the MPs that due to deficient rainfall in monsoon 2014 and monsoon 2015, pulses production in the country has been affected because pulses are primarily rain fed crops.
Recounting initiatives of the Government Singh said our government has taken number of steps to increase pulse production in the country since it came to power in 2014. Till 2013-14, the pulses programme under National Food Security Mission (NFSM) was implemented in 468 districts of 16 states and we have included North Eastern States, Hill States, Kerala and Goa under the pulse programme, he wrote.
“We are promoting cultivation of summer moong, arhar on rice bunds and inter cropping of pulses with other crops like oilseeds, cotton etc. The government has given top priority to increase production of pulses in the country”, the letter reads.
Besides, Farmers are showing a great enthusiasm in taking up pulse crop in their fields. I request you to monitor field level activities for pulses production including cluster demonstrations, seed distribution etc. being held by state machinery and demonstration being held by KVKs in your constituency.
Readers would recall that Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan flagged off NCCF mobile vans for selling pulses at reasonable prices in Delhi on Wednesday.