The role of bees and birds in helping increase the agricultural productivity will be popularised by the Modi administration. The government had promised to double the cultivators' incomes by 2022.
The ministry of agriculture plans to give poultry and beekeeping a big push through the extension wing, attempting to demonstrate ways of adding to the farmers' income.
This, among other things, was discussed at the pre-rabi interface of the extension division, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the department of animal husbandry, and dairy and fisheries on Wednesday, ahead of the national conference on agriculture for rabi campaign, slated for September 19 and 20.
Doubling farmers' income is one Modi promise that calls for lots more work and innovative ideas if it needs to be realised. While a boost to poultry and beekeeping may boost the farmers' incomes, the idea has already been tried, with an occasional dose of success. Mostly, it has failed to increase farm income in any measurable way.
The government is banking on a string of other Modi favourites to help increase farmers' income; enabling scientific farming using soil health cards, neem-coated urea, and the crop insurance are some. But farmers say the only way of making agriculture profitable is if they receive a minimum support price (MSP) based on cost-plus-profits of about 50 per cent.
The government has not heeded this, even as pre-election days in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab saw announcements of farm loan waivers. While in the era of competitive federalism, a few other states have also decided to waive farmers' loans, the Centre, the RBI and the Niti Aayog have cried themselves hoarse that apart from spoiling the non-existent financial discipline, these will add to the burden of states, which will eventually upset the growth targets of the economy as a whole.
“There are better waves of increasing farm production and farmers' income than waiving loans which benefit only very few farmers," Prof Ramesh Chand, member, NITI Aayog.
The government plans to set up integrated bee development centres in many northern and northeastern states, for pollination support. Milk cooperatives will be roped in to collect and market honey.
Early this year, the SAFAL brand, through which frozen vegetables and some other packaged food products are sold in the capital, showcased its brand of bottled honey.
Discussions were held on crops, seeds, horticulture, plant protection, integrated nutrient management etc in order to arrive at inputs that could help boost agricultural productivity.
