Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Sanjeev Kumar Balyan on Friday assured to provide all possible assistance to the Haryana Government for ensuring adequate supply of canal water.
The Union Minister was addressing farmers at the two-day ‘Rabi Krishi Mela’ being organised at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCS HAU), Hisar.
lauding the scientists of the university for their outstanding work in the field of foodgrain production, the Union Minister said the research conducted by these scientists had led to significant quantitative enhancement in foodgrain production in the country.
He said it was unfortunate that the previous Governments had not taken any step to improve the financial situation of the farmers and the university.
Speaking on the occasion, OP Dhankar said farmers should not remain constrained to being merely producers, but should also learn to market their produce. Their financial condition would not improve until they are linked directly to the consumers, he added.
He added the Haryana Government had set a target to increase the income of farmers to `1 lakh per acre, and increase production of vegetables from 77,000 metric tonnes (MT) to two lakh MT.
He said that while 30 per cent of the farmers in the State had opted for the new crop insurance scheme, the Government would provide compensation of `12,000 per acre to the uninsured farmers for losses due to crop damage caused by natural calamities.
The State Government has disbursed about `2,200 crore as compensation to the farmers since it came into power less than two years ago. With a view to prevent accidents and damage to crops, stray animals were rounded up and `50 lakh each made available to all Deputy Commissioners in the State for the purpose, he added.
During the Mela, progressive farmers from different districts were felicitated and Dhankar announced to give `21,000 from his discretionary fund to progressive farmer Kamlesh Nain for carrying out online marketing of his produce.