MH-FARMING-NAIDU

Make farming "viable" to stop exodus from agri sector: Naidu
    Pune, Mar 25 (PTI) Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu
Monday said in a country like India everybody can not be given
employment notwithstanding promises by political parties and
noted it is disturbing to see people leaving the agriculture
sector in large numbers.
    He said it is the responsibility of all stakeholders
to make agriculture a "viable" profession and maintained loan
waivers and free power are not a permanent solution to farm
distress.
    Naidu was speaking at the convocation ceremony of the
Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management
here.
    "In the country, people are leaving agriculture and
this is a very disturbing trend. In a country like India with
a huge population, we cannot sustain on imported technologies
and we can not import everything so we need to have homegrown
food security," said Naidu.
    He called for boosting rural connectivity and
infrastructure.
    "We need to focus on infrastructure such as good
roads, connectivity in rural areas because unless there is
connectivity to rural areas, there will not be any
development," Naidu said.
    The vice-president said loan waivers and free power
are not a permanent solution to problems in the farm sector.
    "What is required is getting a reasonable price for
their farm produce...providing them market information,
provide them godowns, cold storage and affordable and adequate
credit," Naidu said.
    He urged the youth to tap the numerous opportunities
available in agriculture, especially, in the field of
agribusiness and dairy entrepreneurship and become the change
agents in making farming a profitable enterprise.
    Raising the issue of migration to urban areas from
villages, Naidu said Parliament, politicians, press and NITI
Aayog should focus on all-round development to bridge the
rural-urban divide.
    "There is no doubt India is moving forward as
international agencies like World Bank, World Economic Forum,
International Monetary Fund, Moody's Ratings and everybody is
saying India is on the move and the world is looking at India
and future is ours," he added.
    He said while the world economy is going down and
China's economy is expanding at 6.8 per cent, India, according
to all international agencies, is moving ahead with 7.1-7.4
per cent growth rate.
    "If we go ahead with this pace, with all the
stakeholders putting their efforts together and keeping
development as their main agenda, India will become one of the
largest economies in the world," he said.
    Talking about the cooperative sector, Naidu said its
unfortunate that the segment has received a setback because
politics has entered the cooperative movement.
    "It is not good...politics should not come in the way
of the cooperative movement," he added.
    He said cooperative societies play a crucial role in
strengthening the rural economy and ensuring socio-economic
development and inclusive growth.
    "The cooperative movement acts as an enabler to unify
local human resources and channelise energies for the growth
of rural India.
    "The Indian cooperative movement, the world's largest,
has its own inherent strength and weaknesses. With more than 8
lakh cooperatives, they have a significant presence in all the
areas of socio-economic activities," he said.
    The vice-president said at grassroots level, the
cooperative sector has a big role to play in bridging the
urban-rural divide and creating opportunities for income
generation.
    "I am happy your institution is helping cooperatives
in decision-making skills and administrative competence
through the Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) and
Post Graduate Diploma in Cooperative Business Management
(PGDCBM) programmes," Naidu said.
    "In a country like India, everybody can not be given
employment. Political parties can promise, but you know what
is the reality.
    "We must get our skills upgrade so that we are able to
stand and come up with some out-of-the-box ideas," he said.
PTI SPK
RSY RSY