President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday called for looking at farming in a wider entrepreneurial context, and linking traditional farming to the agricultural value chain.
Kovind was speaking as chief guest on the concluding day of the 4th Agri Leadership Summit-2019 at India International Horticulture Market, Gannaur, in Sonipat district.
Appreciating the farmers in Haryana who, with help from the State Government, were adopting new methods to manage stubble and crop residue, he expressed the confidence that they would succeed in finding a solution to the problem of pollution caused by stubble-burning.
The Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya, Chief Minister Manohar Lal, Finance Minister, Capt. Abhimanyu, Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Minister OP Dhankar among others were also present on this occasion.
Kovind exhorted all stakeholders to work jointly to create an atmosphere in the country for making agriculture a viable option and attract entrepreneurs to make investment in agriculture sector. This would inspire farmers' children to take up farming enthusiastically. It would also make the farmers prosperous and enable Haryana to play a leading role in the efforts being made all over the country in the field of agriculture, he added.
The President strongly condemned the attack on the CRPF convoy in Avantipore area of Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir three days ago in which many brave soldiers were martyred.
On the occasion, Kovind also honored nine farmers, including a woman, with ‘Haryana Krishi Ratna Award’ in recognition of their outstanding contribution in the cultivation of different crops. He also honoured Ch. Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, with the newly introduced Haryana Kisan Ratna Award.
Kovind also launched Digital Kisan App which would provide information about unique initiatives and innovations in the field of agriculture through various means of social media. This digital platform, first-ever initiative in this field, has been connected with IT platform and nine community radio stations.
It was informed that about eight lakh farmers could get connected with this digital platform every day.
Speaking on the occasion, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal said that the State Government has set a target to ensure that farmers earned an income of at least Rs 1 lakh per acre. For this, besides the traditional farming of rice and wheat, farmers are being encouraged to adopt such allied activities as bee-keeping, dairy farming, fisheries etc, he said.
Expressing concern over the depleting level of underground water in some parts of the state, the Chief Minister said the State Government had declared some areas as dark zone. Apart from this, farmers have been encouraged to adopt micro irrigation. It is for the first time that water has reached 293 tail-ends in the state. The remaining seven tail-ends would also be covered soon, he said.
Manohar Lal said the present State Government had taken up projects like Lakhwar Dam project, Kisau Dam project and Renuka Dam project which had been lying pending for the last 40 years. Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) for two projects have been signed and after the construction of Lakhwar Dam and Kisau Dam, Haryana would be able to get 47 per cent share of total water, he added.
He further said about 45,000 Soil Health Cards had been issued to the farmers to enable them to grow crop according to the health of soil and improve soil fertility.
The International Horticulture Market, Gannaur, is being constructed over 600 acres of land at a cost of Rs 1,400 crore. The foundation stone of the market has been laid and the construction would start soon, the Chief Minister added.
Addressing the Summit, the Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Minister, OP Dhankar, expressed his gratitude to the Central Government for recognizing the hard work done by the farmers of Haryana and honouring three farmers with the prestigious Padam Shri award.
