Govt's constant endeavour is how to increase farmers' income: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Chandigarh, Apr 22 (PTI) Asserting that agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said the Centre's constant endeavour is how to improve agriculture and increase farmers' income.

The agriculture sector, along with other related sectors, is going to play a key role to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of "Viksit Bharat" (developed India) by 2047, the Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister said at an event in Karnal, Haryana.

"Our constant endeavour is how to improve agriculture and increase income of farmers," Chouhan said.

Chouhan was addressing a gathering after the inauguration of Gene Editing Laboratory at ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research in Karnal.

Chouhan praised the scientists for developing new crop varieties. Today, India is at number two position after China in wheat production, he said.

Praising the farmers, Chouhan said they are 'anndata' (food giver) and added food is essential for life and therefore, farmers are 'jivan datas' (life givers) too. Agriculture is the backbone our economy, he further said.

Chouhan stressed that per hectare crop production has to be increased. He also stated that there has been a 25 per cent increase in wheat production during the past 10 years.

Improved seed varieties are also required and institutes like ICAR are doing the good job, he said. "We will have to come up with varieties which consume less water and are resistant to heat. Bio-fortified varieties are also needed," he told the scientists.

"We have to connect farmers with science," he said.

Earlier in the day, Chouhan attended the 21st convocation of ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI), Karnal. According to a NDRI statement, Chouhan emphasized that diversification of agriculture along with adoption of latest techniques of animal husbandry should be followed. He was of the view that if efforts are properly made, Indian dairy products would be made available across the world.

To fulfil such sort of objective, institutes like NDRI and the students studying here can play a significant role, he opined.

Speaking at the NDRI event, Bhagirath Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said NDRI has made commendable efforts in the sphere of dairy farming and animal husbandry, which have provided new direction to the Indian dairy industry.

Choudhary that in India, milk, dairy products are not only a part of the diet, but are also a symbol of culture, economy and self-reliance. PTI SUN MR

Source: PTI