New Delhi: India is a land of agriculture and farmers with sixty five per cent population dependent on agriculture. If agriculture is adopted as a business, it will not only help farmers live a life of self-esteem but also enable them to double their income in five years i.e. by 2022. This was stated by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh while addressing a gathering at North Zone Regional Farmers Fair-2018 in Varanasi. Shri Singh said all efforts are directed to double farmer’s income by 2022, the year in which India celebrates 75 years of Independence.
The Fair was jointly organized by ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi; Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India; Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA), India; Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh and Association for Promotion of Innovations in Vegetables (APIV). The 3-day North Zone Regional Farmers Fair-2018 saw participation of farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and New Delhi. The Fair will provide detailed information on ways to double farmer’s income through food nutrition and livelihood security. Scientific and technical guidance are also being provided to farmers in order to help them solve the problems related to agriculture sector.
Shri Singh said that India is home to 17.6% of world population, 15% livestock, 4.2% water body, 2.4% land and with only 124 million hectare of agriculture land, it is a challenging task to double farmers’ income but the Government is working on it. In order to achieve this objective, several programs are being run at the national level by the Ministry and ICAR.
The Minister said that such farmer fairs are a part of India’s social fabric. It helps in the transfer of advanced agricultural scientific techniques related to horticulture, fishing, poultry, animal husbandry and food processing and value addition among the farmers of rural areas. The Minister assured that the three day Fair will help impart advanced technologies to the farmers.For the purpose of agriculture diversification, the Fair will be helpful in providing information about the techniques of sustainable and profitable farming in horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, poultry, mushrooms cultivation and organic farming. This will enable them to double their earnings.
Shri Singh said that the Ministry is working to make farmers of India rich. For this, several programs are being implemented like Farmer FIRST, ARYA, student READY, MeraGaonMera Gaurav, post-harvest technology, food processing, price augmentation, region-specific agriculture education and Research & dissemination.
