Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said that agriculture is the "backbone" of the Indian economy and farmers are its "soul".

Addressing a PM Kisan Samman Sammelan in Varanasi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the Rs 20,000 crore 17th installment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi for over 9.26 crore farmers, Chouhan also said that serving the farmers is like worshipping God.

"For us, farmer is God...serving the farmers is like worshipping God," he said.

Chouhan said that it is the prime minister's commitment towards farmers that after holding the post for a third term, he (Modi) first signed the file for Kisan Samman Nidhi and conducted his first programme among the farmers.

The Union minister said work has been done continuously to double the income of farmers. For this, on one hand, efforts are being made to increase production by using new technology through irrigation schemes, while on the other hand, to reduce the cost of production, the government gives subsidies of billions of rupees on fertilizers.

He also said schemes like Kisan Credit Card has freed the farmers from the clutches of moneylenders, and that small farmers are arranging fertilizers and seeds from Kisan Samman Nidhi.

The agriculture minister said that as per the decision taken by PM Modi, minimum support price is fixed by giving at least 50 per cent profit on the cost of a crop in all states.

He said that if the crop is damaged in a natural disaster, then the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has been made to compensate for it, while continuous efforts are being made for diversification of agriculture such as promotion of flower farming, fruit farming, vegetable farming, medicinal farming, agro-forestry, animal husbandry along with agriculture, beekeeping, etc., to increase the income of farmers.

The Union minister said that the agriculture department will work day and night and leave no stone unturned in the welfare of farmers.

He also said that the prime minister has resolved to make three crore 'lakhpati didis', out of which about one crore 'lakhpati didis' have already been made.

One dimension of that is 'Krishi Sakhi', to whom certificates were also distributed today, he said.