Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Monday said that the Modi government has moved from a "production centric" to "profitability centric" approach in agriculture so that farmers can get maximum benefit from their produce.
Shekhawat, who is also the general secretary of BJP's farmers wing, said that the Centre has not only ensured that Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers' produce is hiked but also that procurement is significantly increased.
The minister said the government has taken a series of steps for the welfare of farmers like increasing the MSP & procurement of grains, working on irrigation facilities & ensuring that they get better credit facilities.
He added that "Since we evolved from a food deficit country to a food sufficient nation, our approach was always production centric & how farmer's produce could increase".
Shekhawat further said, "For the first time, the Modi government changed the approach to look at the agriculture sector. He approached it as profitability centric than production centric".
He said "It is the right of the farmer that he gets MSP with a profitable value & the government is committed towards it”. The minister also said in comparison to 2013-14, in 2020-21 the Minimum Support Price on wheat increased by 40%, by 65% on grams and 32% on groundnut. He told similarly procurement centres have increased from 36,000 in 2013-14 to 64,000 in the year 2020-21.
Shekhawat’s comments come amid attacks on the Centre by the opposition over the passage of bills related to the agriculture sector.
On Sunday, the Rajya Sabha passed the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 & the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. The two bills have already been passed by the Lok Sabha and will now go to the President for his approval before they are notified as laws. The opposition has called the legislation as "death warrant" of farmers but the government has defended the move, saying the passage of 2 farm bills is a "watershed moment" in the history of Indian agriculture.
Source - Ministry release
