Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has appealed to the farmers of the State to participate in maximum number in Krishi Mahotsav which will be held from September 25 to October 20 to avail its benefit. The objective of Mahotsav is to apprise farmers of new techniques and methods of farming.
In a letter to farmers, the Chief Minister said Madhya Pradesh had become a pioneer in the country in agriculture sector as a result of farmers’ hard-work and successful implementation of schemes by State Government. It was a matter of pride that the State also topped the country in the production of oilseeds and pulses. He said State also stood first in production of soybean and gram and second in the production of food grains, masoor and mustard. The State will soon achieve the target of production of 2 crore MT wheat, he added.
In the letter, the Chief Minister said his Government had taken a number of measures to make agriculture profitable. Area under irrigation had been increased from 8 lakh hectares to 27 lakh hectares. Bonus was being given on procurement of wheat, paddy and maize. Interest-free loans are being provided for agriculture. Besides, adequate power is also being supplied for farming. Advanced farming techniques have been disseminated. As a result of these efforts, agriculture growth rate in the state has been over 20 percent during last 3 years, which is a record.
The Chief Minister, in the said, said State Government had paid over Rs12,000 crore to about 1.50 crore farmers as bonus, compensation, insurance claim and grant. Soybean crops had suffered huge losses last year. Crops insurance amount worth Rs2,187 crore was being deposited directly in about 14 lakh farmers’ bank accounts. Such a huge amount was never paid before to farmers in one year earlier.
Chouhan urged the farmers to take part in maximum number in Krishi Mahotsav being organised in the series of efforts to make agriculture profitable.