Shinde emphasises shift towards organic mechanised farming

Thane, May 17 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has urged officials to make concerted efforts to uplift farmers and emphasised the need to shift towards organic and mechanised farming.
    Shinde, who is also the guardian minister of Thane, presided over a district-level pre-Kharif season review meeting on Friday.
    "Farmers should be encouraged to take up group, organic, and mechanised farming, and maximum benefits of schemes should be given to these cultivators," an official release quoted Shinde saying.
    He called for a multi-pronged approach, including promoting diverse crops and directed officials to ensure works on water bodies are completed before the monsoon season.
    Quality seeds and fertilisers are made available to farmers in a timely manner, and they should be given the necessary training to improve soil texture, he said.
    Initiatives such as the Fruit Crop Insurance Scheme and the Chief Minister's Sustainable Agriculture Scheme need wider publicity, Shinde noted.
    He also pushed for 100 per cent Kharif loan distribution and timely AgriStack registration to ensure no eligible PM Kisan beneficiary is left out.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)