The 92nd Annual General Meeting of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research was held at Krishi Bhavan New Delhi on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary along with officials of ICAR were also present in the meeting.
Giving information about the meeting, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary said that this meeting is a medium when we put the concerns and problems related to agriculture in various states to each other and paving the way for their solution through ICAR. He also emphasized that despite all the challenges, ICAR has achieved remarkable successes in almost nine decades.
Its achievements include increasing production and productivity through research and development of new technologies and varieties. Kailash Choudhary also underlined Prime Minister Modi's step taken by ICAR towards doubling farmers' income by 2022. He expressed happiness over the fact that the Modi government has recognized the importance of the agricultural sector and has honoured dozens of farmers with Padma Shri awards.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary said about the disturbance in the farmer's movement that the political parties which the people of the country have rejected are engaged in misleading some farmers today. Some people are not allowing the discussion of farmers and government. Political parties are doing such events only to come in the discussion. We have tried to simplify the work of the village farmer. Those who are shedding crocodile tears for farmers today, everyone knows what they did while in power.
At the beginning of the movement, there was a demand that the MSP should be guaranteed. Earlier farmers used to face a penalty for breaking the agricultural law, but now our government has abolished such penalty. Now the buyer will also have to give a receipt to the farmers and will also have to pay for the crop within three days.
MSP and Mandis will continue as usual:
Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary said that if someone signs an agreement with the farmer, he will want the crop to be good. In such a case, the person making the agreement will provide modern things to the farmers according to the market trends. If for some reason the crop of the farmer is not good or is wasted, the farmer will still get the crop money. The agreement holder cannot break the agreement, but the farmer can terminate the agreement on his own.
Kailash Choudhary said that the MSP will not end, the mandis will also be operational. The government has given confidence to the farmers that if there is any doubt then the government is ready for discussion. The government's focus is on reducing the cost of farming. Farmers are being given benefits under many schemes.
