Haryana Government has decided to open agri-business school in the State to educate the farmers about market strategies as per the changing scenario of information technology.
The step will also enable the farmers to directly sell their produce to the consumers, said Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, OP Dhankar while speaking at a programme organized by Haryana Regional Office of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) here.
He also released the state focus paper for various schemes of the State Government for the year 2017-18.
The State focus paper 2017-18 presented by NABARD envisaged bankable credit potential estimates of Rs 1,18,875 crore with a provision of crop loan of Rs 52,274 crore thus projecting a growth of 12 per cent over the projections for the year 2016-17.
While stressing the need for adopting the concept of crop cycle, crop management and crop marketing management in accordance with the market demand, Dhankar said that as the owners of big companies were selling their produce by setting up stalls in fairs like Agro-tech, the farmers should also change their social mindset of not sitting in the market and learn the art of sale.
The Minister said that during the previous governments, the farmers were pushed from subsistence farming to capital intensive farming in the name of green revolution without making adequate risk management and this has worsen the situation of the farmers in the country.
He said that new schemes were being prepared with the vision of risk-free persons, risk-free livestock and risk-free villages.
A scheme to issue Kisan Credit Cards to farmers was started during the tenure of former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and interest on crop loan was reduced from 18 per cent to two per cent. Now, the present Government has reduced it to zero per cent, he added.
Dhankar said that with a view to increase the interest of farmers towards horticulture and other cash crops instead of traditional crops, the State Government has prepared a proposal to implement the concept of peri-agriculture in the National Capital Region so as to meet the demand of milk, fruits, flowers, vegetables, curd, eggs and other dairy products. Apart from this, all out efforts were being made to promote organic farming.
He said that 140 villages have been declared as organic villages so that the produce could be sold to the consumers through farmers’ groups by making brand of their produce.
The Agriculture Minister said that the farmers of Haryana have enough potential to identify the market.
He also urged that financial institutions like NABARD to come forward for the betterment of farmers.