States told to shift farm focus from production to marketing

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 8

Working towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission to double farmers’ income by 2022, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday urged the states to shift their focus from production-specific approach to market-oriented agriculture with stress on exporting the produce.

Addressing a conference of state agriculture ministers, Tomar emphasised the need for states to develop synergy with the Centre for better implementation of welfare schemes and programmes meant for the agricultural community.

The minister also urged the states to take measures to reduce the input costs of cultivation for better income generation, besides reinforcing the initiative for judicious use of fertilisers on the basis of soil health card.

The conference, first in Narendra Modi 2.0 regime, was convened to discuss agriculture-related issues with an overriding goal to increase income. The focus was on central schemes, including PM Kisan Card, PM Fasal Bima Yojana, e-National Agricultural Market (e-NAM) and organic farming and market reforms.

Tomar lay thrust on ensuring proper price to farmers for their produce and bolstering agricultural marketing through e-NAM, “which has the potential boost exports”.

Showing concern over the depleting underground water, he made a case for states to play an active role in creating awareness on water conservation practices among farmers. “Drip, sprinkler irrigation and water harvesting are the ways forward,” he said. Representing the Punjab Government during an interactive session, state’s Agriculture Secretary KS Pannu urged for central help to diversify the cropping pattern from water-intensive paddy to maize. This was in the context of the Central Ground Water Board’s May 2019 report, which mentions alarming an depletion of underground water in the state. 

Pannu appealed for establishing a laboratory in Punjab to check chemical residue levels in the soil to improve the production of better export-quality basmati rice. Rice with chemical residue gets devalued in foreign market.

Taking part in the discussion, Haryana Agriculture Minster OP Dhankar said the state government had taken concrete measures for the welfare of farmers and to augment their income. “The state has dispersed Rs 4,665 crore as compensation to farmers. Also, we are providing better remunerative MSP compared to the prices fixed during non-BJP governments,” he added.