New Delhi: Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh has said today here that it is essential to use maximum and best technology available resources in fast changing world and growing world economic competition so that domestic requirement of food grains can be met and export may be promoted. Agriculture Minister has said while releasing coffee table book “ Farm Mechanization for Make in India’.
Agriculture Minister said that farm mechanization has become an important part of crop production, processing and transport but it is facing double challenges in the whole world. The first challenge is to increase the supply of food for growing population and the second is the protection of environment. He said that the challenge of farm mechanization still exists in India. Most of our land holding is a small, therefore, commercial use is not proving beneficial but government ensuring the availability of farm machine- rota vator, blow sprayer, cotton cultivator, cutter and shredder through the establishment of custom hiring centre for those farmers who cannot buy costly farm machines. Four regional farm machinery training and testing institutes have been established in the country which cater to the needs of standard and quality farm machinery and equipments.
Shri Singh informed that farm mechanization sub-mission has been started from 2014-15 for the purpose of promoting farm mechanization in the country by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The aim of the sub-mission is to promote farm mechanization for small and marginal farmers and to promote farm mechanization where there is less availability of farm machines.
The Minister further said that the Modi government released Rs. 340 crore for this sector in last two years i.e. 2014-16 whereas the previous government released only Rs. 62 crore between 2012-14. Shri Singh said that Centre Government has released Rs. 118 crore for this purpose.
Shri Singh said that food safety, rural employment and soil conservation, sustainable natural resource management and bio-diversity production are essential for sustainable technology and total rural development. Sustainable development of agriculture is required for increase in rural income, doubling the income of farmers and catering to the needs of food and nutrition and farm mechanization plays an important role in it. He said that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Five BRICS countries) along with Japan and Turkey are in the category of the markets of modern farm machines.
On the occasion, Agriculture Minister said that the book is good and readers will like it. He said that the officers of Ministry of Agriculture and Officials of FICCI have provided qualitative material for it. He praised social liability council for the publication of this book.
