Addressing the need of the hour, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar said that there is an urgent need for private investment in the field of agriculture. He was addressed an international webinar organized by Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, and a national webinar organized by Junagadh Agricultural University.
The minister said “This will increase prosperity in the agriculture sector, which in turn will increase self-reliance and prosperity in the country. He also called upon scientists to contribute in increasing agricultural production and mitigate difficulties.”
He said that India is surplus in terms of food grain production which shows that the farmers can produce more such a large population despite facing several challenges but more needs to be done as with the rise in population the demand for food grains will increase and so modern techniques need to be adopted to overcome it.
He also stressed the importance of Agriculture scientists and how they can be useful in this endeavor by promoting progressive farming and develop disease-resistant and pest-resistant varieties of crops. This will not only be able to grow in less area but could also be sown in less favorable areas like places with high temperatures or saline and acidic soils.
The minister also lauded the Prime Minister's efforts in reforming agriculture by announcing a provision of one lakh crore to the sector with other provisions also launched for allied activities like bee farming, fisheries, herbal farming, and food processing.
The Union Government has recently amended several laws that now enable farmers to sell their crops outside of APMC mandis. The new law allows more freedom to private players to engage in the buying and selling of crops and the government is keen on attracting private investment to the fore and are working on several new amendments on laws to provide a favorable environment for them to invest in the market.
One of the main problems faced by the Indian Farmers is that when there is a surplus in the market they struggle to sell crops and face losses. Even after the pandemic that has affected the world economy Agriculture has shown tremendous growth and the sowing of Kharif Season is 45% more than the previous season. The government hopes that large scale investment by the private sector will help to create a seamless supply chain and open the doors for farmers to export their produce.
