The National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign-2016 which saw participation by notable personalities connected with agro-related fields ended Tuesday with a vow to double farmers’ income through an effective Kharif strategy.
The conference took place in the backdrop of the two consecutive droughts the country has suffered. To facilitate focused deliberations, the States were divided into thirteen Groups on different topics such as formulating strategy for growth of Pulses & Oilseeds or Rice-Strategy or Cotton-management or Organic farming.
How to effectively implement crop insurance scheme also formed part of discussion as did intervention strategy needed to reduce cost of cultivation in farming through better input management. There remained special emphasis on what is known as Technology led growth for achieving high productivity in Horticulture.
On the second day of the Campaign domain-wise group discussions with States were held for Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries and Marketing, Credit and Cooperation leading to finalization of recommendations and evolution of strategy of Kharif 2016.
The recommendations of each of the 4 domains were presented before the Minister in the afternoon session on Tuesday. All the participants were given an opportunity to share their opinions, comments and suggestions besides seeking clarification in 2 open house sessions. The 1st such session was chaired by the three Secretaries of the Ministry and the second one by the Union Agriculture Minister himself.
The conference ended with a concluding address by the Agriculture Minister who advised all the States to firm up their Kharif strategy based on integrated farming approach. The Minister advised the different Departments dealing with Agriculture and Allied Sectors at the State Level to work in a concerted manner.