10,000 new FPOs to be registered soon to promote cooperative farming : Tomar

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Union Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on February 27, 2020, said the Government will soon register 10,000 new Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to promote cooperative farming. Addressing the 91^st Annual General Meeting of the ICAR Society here, he said budgetary provision has been made to provide each FPO a sum of Rs 15 lakh for all farming related activities ranging from sowing, harvesting, to distribution and marketing.

Tomar, who is also the President of the ICAR Society, said under the directions of PM Narendra Modi an ambitious nationwide scheme has been launched to vaccinate 53 crore cattle and goats under Mission mode. Besides, target has been set for doubling of Fisheries harvesting and export and Milk production, he said.

He also called for wider dissemination of Government schemes so that the benefits percolate down to the lowest level among the farmers. For instance, under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), he said, there were apprehensions that Insurance companies gained more than the farmers, besides reports of malpractices at lower level during inspection. With a view to alleviating such concerns, the crop insurance scheme has been turned voluntary now and premium also remains the same, – between one-and-a-half percent to 2%, he said.

Tomar said 58% of those who availed PMFBY crop cover were farmers who had availed crop loans. However, the fact is, as against the total sum of Rs 13,000 crore premium collected by insurance companies, a total of Rs.58,000 crore Insurance benefits have been paid to farmers, he added, according to a PIB release. He said  the challenge is to strengthen agriculture and rural economy, increase production and productivity, make farming a profitable venture and raise farmers and rural incomes. The Prime Minister has set the target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, added Tomar.

Speaking on the occasion, Railways and Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal called for synergy between the various R&D institutions under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Universities and academia, PSUs and Industry so that the huge investments being made by each of them yields bigger returns. The Prime Minister has aimed to make India a $5 trillion economy in five years, said  Goyal, adding agricultural output and productivity will be a big factor towards achieving the goal.

Goyal called upon agricultural scientists to work towards a stage when our agriculture breaks free of the vagaries of nature. He said the Kisan Rail has been announced in this year’s budget and the train with frozen containers will be a big step in transportation and marketing of agriproducts.

Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) & Director General, ICAR,  gave an overview of the organisation’s activities and said 229 varieties of new crops were released in the last one year including 189 climate resilient crops..

Tomar and other dignitaries released a number of ICAR publications and various kits and Mobile Apps developed by the ICAR.