Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, inaugurated the seed processing and storage facility at the Indian Grassland and Grassland Research Institute, Jhansi, an institution affiliated with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
On this occasion, a women's farmers conference was also held. Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICAR, Dr. Panjab Singh, Chancellor of Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi, and Vice Chancellor Dr. A.K. Singh were present on this occasion.
Dr. Amresh Chandra, Director of the Indian Grassland and Grassland Research Institute, also observed techniques and reviewed University activities with Tomar. Aside from the institute headquarters, three units of this type of seed processor have been installed at regional research centres in Dharwad and Srinagar, with funding from the Ministry of Agriculture totaling Rs 3.7 crore.
Agricultural equipment worth Rs 50 lakhs was distributed to beneficiary women farmers during the Women's Farmers Conference as part of the Scheduled Caste sub-project run at the institute/centres.
Tomar lauded the institute's efforts to empower farmers and women farmers through the Scheduled Caste sub-Project and praised the institute's scientists for the development of more than 300 fodder crop varieties and various techniques.
He emphasized the importance of disseminating the institute's various research findings to as many farmers as possible. Speaking about the various welfare schemes run by the Government of India for the benefit of farmers, Tomar called for greater efforts to ensure adequate water and fodder availability in the country.
