Agriculture central to India’s economic policy, says PM Modi
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the CII post-budget conference in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Photo: PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said agriculture is at the heart of India’s economic policy, adding that small farmers are the biggest force behind India’s food security.
“Agriculture is at the heart of India’s economic policy. India’s 90 per cent smallholder farmers who own little land are the single biggest force behind India’s food security,” Prime Minister Modi said at the inaugural ceremony of the 32nd International Association of Agricultural Economists at the National Agricultural Science Centre (NASC) Complex in Delhi.
He pointed out that a similar situation exists in several developing countries in Asia, making the Indian model applicable. Giving the example of natural farming, the Prime Minister said that the positive results of promoting chemical-free natural farming are being seen on a large scale in the country.
He also mentioned a strong emphasis on sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture in this year’s budget, as well as developing a complete ecosystem to support Indian farmers.
The Prime Minister stressed the government’s emphasis on research and development of climate-resilient crops and informed that nearly 1,900 new climate-resilient varieties have been handed over to farmers in the last 10 years. He gave examples of rice varieties in India that require 25 percent less water than traditional varieties and the emergence of black rice as a superfood.
“Black rice from Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya is the preferred choice because of its medicinal value,” he said, adding that India is equally keen to share its experiences in this regard with the global community.
The Prime Minister also acknowledged the seriousness of the nutritional challenge along with water scarcity and climate change. He presented Shri Anna, Millet as a solution given the superfood’s quality of ‘minimum water and maximum production’.
Prime Minister Modi indicated that India is ready to share its millet basket with the world and declared the past year as the International Year of Millet.
Mentioning the initiatives to link agriculture with modern technology, the Prime Minister spoke about the Soil Health Card, Solar Farming, Transforming Farmers into Energy Providers, Digital Farm Marketplace like e-Nam, Kisan Credit Card and the Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana, among others.
He also touched upon formalisation of agriculture and allied sectors ranging from traditional farmers to agri-startups, from natural farming to farm stays and from farm to fork. He informed that in the last 10 years, ninety lakh hectares have been brought under micro-irrigation. As India moves fast towards the target of 20 per cent ethanol blending, he said, both agriculture and environment stand to benefit.
Highlighting the use of digital technology in India’s agriculture sector, the Prime Minister mentioned PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, which will transfer money to the bank accounts of 10 crore farmers with a single click, and a digital public infrastructure for digital crop surveys that will provide farmers with real-time information and enable them to take data-driven decisions.
He stressed that millions of farmers will benefit from this initiative and their economic situation will improve.
He also mentioned a major campaign for land digitalisation, where farmers are given a digital identification number for their land, and the promotion of drones in agriculture, where ‘dronedidis’ are trained to operate drones.
PM Modi reiterated India’s commitment to global welfare as a ‘Vishwa Bandhu’. He recalled India’s vision for global welfare and listed several mantras that India has been putting forward at various forums, including ‘One Earth, One Family and One Future’, ‘Mission LiFE’ and ‘One Earth One Health’.
Prime Minister Modi stressed that India does not look at the health of people, plants and animals in silos.
“Challenges to sustainable agriculture and food systems can only be addressed with the holistic approach of ‘One Earth, One Family and One Future’,” the Prime Minister said.
He added that these steps will not only benefit India’s farmers but also strengthen global food security. Noting the presence of a large number of youngsters, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the next five days will witness ways to connect the world to sustainable agri-food systems. “We will learn from each other and also educate each other,” he concluded.
The triennial conference, organized by the International Association of Agricultural Economists, will take place from 2 to 7 August 2024. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Transformation to sustainable agri-food systems’.
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First print: Aug 03, 2024 | 2:03 PM IST