India needs to focus on rapid development of villages by providing urban amenities in rural areas to become a developed nation by 2020, former President A P J Abdul Kalam said in here today in the capital while addressing the second global agri-business incubation conference.
Small land holdings hamper farm growth in India and this problem can be remedied through the cooperative movement. The latter can help in mechanization of farms and marketing of agro-products, Dr. Kalam added.
The foundation of sustainable development of rural areas is PURA which means providing urban amenities in rural areas,” Dr. Kalam added with emphasis.
According to him, nearly 800 million Indian people live in villages who desperately need basic facilities such as infrastructure, knowledge and connectivity to play an important role in the transformation of India.
There are an estimated 7,000 PURA complexes covering 6, 00,000 villages, these complexes should work on product diversification, better technology, sound entrepreneurship and market understanding to succeed as centers of growth.
The three-day conference is being organised by Indian Council of Agricultural Research and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
The conference will discuss potential remunerative livelihood option in agriculture and allied sectors while addressing the challenges in agri-business.