VP Naidu calls for increased investments in agriculture

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The Vice President (VP) of India M Venkaiah Naidu has suggested to the Central and State Governments to increase investments in agriculture and allied sectors to make farming viable and attractive. He was interacting with Scientists, Faculty Members and Research Fellows at the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad, on May 19, 2018. Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana Mohammad Mahmood Ali and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

The Vice President said that there is a need to make agriculture sustainable, viable and attractive by creating required infrastructure, providing timely credit and value addition to farm produce. The central government’s e-NAM project is the way forward for proper marketing, he added. He said that providing information to farmers regarding the demand for their produce in advance was essential to prevent distress sale.

Naidu also said that providing affordable and reasonable credit to farmers is also equally important. Loan waiver was not a permanent solution as it would not help in creating long-term sustainable activity, he added, according to a PIB release.

The Vice President advised the extension officials to create greater awareness among the farming community on the crop insurance scheme. He also said that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) should be leveraged more effectively for the benefit of farmers. Naidu also said that information should be disseminated to the farmers in the local languages.

The Vice President also wanted institutions like MANAGE to educate the farmers on the need to diversify crops to overcome challenges of climate change and sustain their incomes. Stressing on the importance of spending time in the fields by the extension officials and researchers, Naidu said it should be made mandatory for agricultural graduates and post graduates to spend time with farmers before completion of their courses.

Pointing to the increasing challenges posed by climate change, the Vice President advised MANAGE to promote climate-smart agriculture. He also stressed on the need for home-grown food security to create surplus food stocks and meet the requirements of burgeoning population.