Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal has said that use of advanced technology is far more beneficial for farmers than continuing to use traditional techniques for farming. Nowadays, farmers have started deploying modern agricultural equipments for cultivation, owing to which agriculture has become a profitable business, he said.
Organic farming is a considerably effective method of farming that helps in preserving fertility of soil for a longer period of time, Agrawal said in his at a Farmers’ Convention organized on the third day of Agri-tech Fair and Jajvalya Dev Mahotsav at District Headquarters Janjgir on Thursday. At the Agri-tech fair, exhibition of advanced breed animals was also held. Programme was presided over by lok Sabha MP Kamla Devi Patle.
Agrawal further said that earlier agriculture was considered to be the best practice, and every family was associated to this field. One’s involvement in agriculture used to be an important parameter for evaluation of one’s social status. But with change in times, people began to lose interest in this field. Now that advanced technology for cultivation is available and the practice has become significantly profitable, youngsters should practice agriculture and contribute to progress of the sector, he said.
On the occasion, Agrawal appealed to the farmers to cultivate pulses, oilseeds and horticulture crops, along with paddy, so as to generate additional income. He also suggested them to practice fishery and animal husbandry as a side business. The Minister said that excessive use of chemical fertilizers adversely affects the fertility of soil, causing major loss to farmers.
Agrawal said that the State Government is operating various welfare schemes for betterment of agriculture sector and farmers. Farmers are provided interest-free loans. The State Government has formulated a scheme to give away farm health cards to nearly 37 lakh farmers, implementation of which has already started, he said.
Irrigation capacity is being continuously expanded to ensure irrigation facility for each agricultural farm in the State. Chhattisgarh has made historical achievement in providing electricity connection to irrigation pumps, Agrawal said. The State Government is also going to initiate Sarthak Insurance Scheme for farmers to provide compensation against damaged crops.
MP Kamla Devi Patle said that State Government has made elaborate arrangement for farmers; right from preparing land for cultivation to procurement of crops at fair prices. The Agriculture Minister felicitated the winners of advanced breed animal exhibition cum competition. In the programme, Janjgir-Champa Jila Panchayat President Surajvyas Kashyap, former Minister in the undivided Madhya Pradesh Government Balihar Singh, former President of Chhattisgarh State Youth Commission Kartikeshwar Swarnakar, and other public representatives, Janjgir-Champa Collector OP Choudhary and SP Prashant Agrawal were also present.