AHMEDABAD: Union minister of state for agriculture
Parshottam Rupala has suggested that
farmers
with small land holdings should join hands and enter into contract farming with private companies. Rupala was speaking at the seminar on ‘Sustainable technology-driven agriculture for New India’. He said
Gujarat
has a large number of farmers with small land holdings. He said that to thrive, these farmers have to ally with sectors such as
horticulture
and aquaculture. “Secondly, these farmers can collectively forge an alliance with companies by signing a memorandum of understanding,” he said.
Rupala said farmers could consider honeybee farming to earn extra income. He said that farmers have to be ready to adapt changes. He said Gujarat farmers were among the first to take to BT cotton and today the production was to the tune of 1.25 crore bales. He said that the Government of India was committed to doubling the income of farmers and a committee has been formed to fulfil that aspiration.
Gujarat agriculture minister R C Faldu said that the measures taken by the Gujarat government for water conservation have helped the state increase its irrigated area. He said that the completion of the Narmada dam has helped the state increase its irrigation capacity. He said that the work on the dam had been stalled for years but after Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister, the dam was completed. He said that since the state has adopted the best technologies for farming, it has been able to increase its agriculture production over the past two decades.
In all, 21 MOUs were signed during the seminar of which four involved France and Russia; three, Netherlands; and one each, UAE and the US.
Start a Conversation
Post comment