Melinda French Gates, the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, met with Narendra Singh Tomar, the union minister for agriculture and farmers' welfare, today in New Delhi. Tomar inaugurated the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare's integrated "Agriculture Investment Portal" during the meeting.
In the meeting, Tomar stated that the government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given women farmers their full attention. In the meeting, Tomar stated that the government of India is consistently working effectively under the direction of Prime Minister Modi to address the numerous challenges in the agricultural sector. He claimed there are more small farmers in the nation than ever before.
The government is making efforts in this direction because it thinks that if their numbers grow, the agriculture industry will flourish, and production will rise. According to Tomar, traditional farming practices were once the norm in India's agricultural sector, but the country now needs investment.
To that end, the government has implemented numerous reforms, integrated technology into agriculture, and launched the Digital Agriculture Mission to guarantee that eligible farmers receive assistance in a transparent manner. According to Tomar, the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan includes a special package worth over Rs 1.5 lakh crore for agriculture and related sectors to boost investment in agriculture. The Rs. 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is among the provisions whose construction has already begun. The Indian agriculture industry will be revitalized once these are implemented.
According to Tomar, there are many women employed in India's agriculture industry. The Ministry of Agriculture is collaborating with the Union Ministry of Rural Development on a programme to empower women farmers to increase their numbers and ensure their continued advancement. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture allocates a portion of its budget to supporting women farmers.
The "Krishi Nivesh Portal" (Agriculture Investment Portal) will be a centralized, one-stop portal for agri-investors to take advantage of various government schemes implemented by various departments related to agriculture and allied sectors; it will prove to be a milestone in terms of investment in the agriculture sector.
He claimed that the investors would find this portal very helpful and benefit significantly from it. Tomar, who appreciated the work being done by the Gates Foundation in various fields in India, hoped that the Foundation's work in the country's agriculture sector would be a positive learning experience. Melinda Gates declared that she would be delighted to collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture. She wants as many women farmers as possible to participate. She claimed that the Foundation works in numerous nations and has had positive experiences there. Melinda Gates expressed her joy over India receiving the G-20 presidency and her desire to always collaborate.
In the meeting, Manoj Ahuja, the Union Agriculture Secretary, and Dr. Himanshu Pathak, the Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), also shared their perspectives. Praveen Samuel, Joint Secretary, presented. There were also representatives from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Gates Foundation's India office present.
