Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday pitched for creating ‘digital villages’ to develop the rural sector and ensure empowerment of farmers. It was essential to realise the dream of ‘New India’, he outlined.
He suggested that at least 500 villages should be made ‘less cash’ per year as part of realising the dream of ‘digital villages’. The Prime Minister also emphasised the need for focusing on growth of livestock sector and said skill training should be provided to womenfolk, who play a crucial role in this area.
The Prime Minister was addressing the Golden Jubilee and Foundation Day celebrations of Pune based-based Bhartiya Agro Industries Foundation through video conferencing from New Delhi. Underlining the importance of empowering the farmers in the villages, Modi said it was essential for the balanced development of the country.
“Today, there is a need to feel proud of our villages,” he said, suggesting that events should be held annually in villages in which those who have migrated to urban areas can participate and reconnect with their roots.
“For the development of the nation, prosperity of farmers is essential. ....The ‘anna datas’ of the nation should be free from worries… Without an empowered farmer, the dream of ‘New India’ will remain unfulfilled,” he said.
Talking about the concept of digital villages, he said the Government is connecting all Panchayats through optical fibre. “But there is a need to make the villagers capable to use the technology,” he said, adding that all the expenses related to health and education may be conducted digitally.
He called for revolution in the fishery, honeybee and water sectors to boost farm income while saying that the Government’s policy is focusing on reducing input cost. Highlighting steps taken in the agri-sector, Modi said the Government is encouraging organic farming and crop diversification while it has distributed over 9 crore soil health cards and linked over 500 mandis with e-NAM (electronic national agriculture market).
The Centre has recently announced Pradhan Mantri Kisam Sampada Yojana to address the storage problem and promote processing and value addition.
Among other initiatives, he said crop risk of farmers is being insured under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and cheaper crop loans are being provided to save them from private money lenders.
“The Government’s effort is to reduce the input cost of farmers and increase their income. When farmers are free from worries, the country will make progress,” Modi said.
The cost of agri-production is coming down due to the Government policies, he added. Referring to the livestock sector, Modi said Rs 40,000 crore are lost due to animal diseases and suggested organising more livestock health camps to address the problem.
He said 70 per cent of those engaged in this field are women and they should be given training to look after the cattle in a better way. In this context, he said women self help groups (SHGs) should be given training in veterinary science and animal feed, who in turn could train the village women for further growth of the sector. He also talked about huge potential not only in organic farming but also medicinal and aromatic plants amid rise in global demand.
Observing that agriculture is not about growing wheat and rice, the Prime Minister said, “People know about Green and White Revolutions. The need of the hour is Blue Revolution to transform the lives of fisheries and Sweet Revolution to boost additional income from beekeeping.” He also called for Water revolution, emphasising the need for using technology to ensure ‘per drop more crop.