‘Adopt new farm tech to increase yields’

Nagpur: A group of top agriculture scientists, farm activists, swadeshi supporters, academicians and researchers who came on a single platform at the Agrovision farm fair here on Friday agreed that any technology that is clean and brings more income for the farmers was welcome and would not be opposed from any quarters.
“Probably for the first time such a group of disparate thinkers came to a consensus on a sensitive issue that impacts life of more than half of the country’s population” said CD Mayee, former chairman of the agriculture scientists’ recruitment board who moderated the panel discussion on: ‘Modern Tools for Better Productivity’ at the ongoing Agrovision exhibition at Reshimbag grounds here.
Among the participants in the discussion where Swapan Datta, deputy director general (seeds) ICAR, K C Bansal, national bureau of plant protection, Ashwani Mahajan of Swadeshi Jagran Manch, Prabhakar Kelkar, secretary Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, C Kameswara Rao of Foundation for Biotech Research, Jayakumar, secretary general of Vijnana Bharti, IS Dua ex-head of the dept of Punjab University, K R Kranti, director, Central cotton research institute, Manvendra Kachore of Marathwada University, Krishna Beer Chaudhary of Bharatiya Krishak Samaj. Also present were Arvind Kapur, CEO Rasi Seeds, B Ventateswarlu, vice-chancellor, Rajendra Barwale, MD of Mahyco seeds company.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari later told the media that useful information was exchanged among the experts from the field at the discussion. Mayee said the scientists also agreed that any new technology for improving farm productivity should be indigenous and innovative to suit needs and conditions of Indian farmers. “It’s rare to find all agreeing on any point in such a group, but they did on issues related to farmers so that the lot of the tillers improved,” said Gadkari.
He said new tools like solar charkha (spinning wheel) should be accepted without raising doubts that automation bars the tool from khadi fold.
On Saturday, a conference on agri-processing would be held at Agrovision which is to be inaugurated by Union minister for food processing Harsimran Kaur.