Modern agri practices need of the hour: PM Narendra Modi

Tribune News Service & PTI

New Delhi, March 28

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday underlined the need for modernisation and innovation in the agriculture sector to boost farmers’ income.

In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio address, Modi said: “In the agriculture sector, modernisation is the need of the hour. It has been delayed and we have already lost a lot of time.”

“To create new employment opportunities and to increase farmers’ income, it is important to adopt new alternatives and innovations along with traditional agricultural practices,” he said.

The PM’s call comes at a time when hundreds of farmers have been camping at Delhi’s border points since November last year, demanding repeal of the three farm laws. In the context of diversification, Modi said bee farming was being adopted by farmers in various parts of the country, giving a boost to production and export of honey, which he termed as a “sweet revolution”. He cited farmers from Yamunanagar in Haryana among others who are adopting bee farming in a big way. Modi hailed the world’s largest vaccination programme being carried out in India and stressed on

“dawai bhi, kadai bhi” (medicines as well as strict preventive measures).