Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday credited farmers for their hard work in ensuring the country's food security, saying that farmers were essential for the survival of the population.
Interacting with farmers via the Narendra Modi (NaMo) app, Prime Minister Modi expressed optimism about using a digital platform to address farmers from over 600 districts in India.
Adding that the farmers are always left on their own, and not much is done to ensure their development, Modi said, "There is a need for technological innovation in order to help the farmers. Keeping this in mind, our government has been trying to ensure their development. In order to ensure that the farmers receive the right price for their products, the government has tried to remove the middlemen from the system and bring the produce directly to the consumers."
Modi reiterated his government's commitment of striving to double farmers' income by 2022, adding that assistance was being provided to all farmers.
Modi interacted with farmers from Karnataka, Sikkim, West Bengal and Maharashtra among other parts of the country on the achievements and challenges of farming.
Listing out key areas where the government is working to help the farmers progress, Modi said, "There should be the right price for the produce. We also need to ensure that the grains are not destroyed and also that there are alternative sources of income."
Modi informed the farmers that agriculture saw rapid growth in the last three years.
"We approved a sum of over Rs. 2 lakh crore in the Union budget. There is record production of grains, fruits, vegetables and milk in the country today. With the blue revolution, the fisheries sector has seen a 26 per cent rise. The animal husbandry sector has also seen a 24 per cent rise," Modi said.
He further added that for the farmers of the country to get fair prices of crops, the Centre has decided that the minimum support price (MSP) for notified crops will be declared as being at least 1.5 times of their cost.
Underlining the rise in agricultural production, Modi said, "In the year 2017-18, foodgrain production was more than 280 million tonnes, while the average production from 2010 to 2014 was 250 million tonnes. Similarly, in the area of pulses, 10.5 per cent of the average production and horticulture area has registered an increase of 15 per cent.”
Modi struck a chord with the farmers saying, "We strive to help farmers at every step in the whole process of cultivation, i.e. before sowing, after sowing and after harvesting."
Modi further added that his government started e-NAM, an online platform, to ensure that the farmers are not duped and that they get the right price for their produce, ensuring that the middlemen are not able to snatch the profits of the farmers.
He recalled that earlier farmers used to stand in long queues for buying fertilisers, adding that now neem-coated urea was available to all the farmers in the country.
Pitching for farmers to adopt the drip irrigation system, Modi continued, "I always encourage farmers to adopt drip irrigation system. This would help in reducing the burden that our farmers have to face in irrigating their crop land. 'Per drop, more crops' should be our motto."
He further underlined that under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PM Agricultural Irrigation Scheme), 99 irrigation projects have been completed across the country so far.