Bolster collective power of small farmers: Modi
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech said his government’s agriculture policies were pivoted to meet the needs of small farmers, who must be turned into “pride of the nation”.
Modi said that it was high time the country needed to apply “scientific research and suggestions” to the agriculture sector to provide food security to the nation and to increase food production. He also said that the country must increase the collective power of small farmers.
“Our mantra is ‘Chhota kisan bane desh ki shaan’ (small farmers must become the pride of the nation) . It’s our dream. In years to come, we’ve to further increase the collective strength of small farmers of the country, we will have to provide them new facilities. ‘Kisan rail’ runs on more than 70 rail routes of the country today.”
Small farmers have less than two hectares of land. Additionally, farm holdings are getting smaller and smaller in villages with rise in population and division in families, he said during his speech.
“Now, keeping these farmers in mind, farm policies and reforms are being made,” the PM said, adding that schemes like Pm-kisan and Fasal Bima Yojana will strengthen these cultivators.
Modi also announced that the government would fortify the rice distributed to the poor through different schemes such as midday meals to improve nutritional outcomes.
“Malnutrition and lack of micro-nutrients are affecting the growth of poor children. Looking at this, it has been decided to fortify the rice given to the poor via different government schemes,” the PM said.
The PM’S focus on small farmers during his I-day speech comes amid a nearly year-long agitation by farmers, especially from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh etc, against three agricultural laws enacted last year in September. Talks between the central government and farmer unions have stalled since they last met on January 22; the two sides have held 11 meetings thus far. In the January 22 meeting, the unions rejected the government’s proposal to put the laws on hold for up to 18 months. The Centre has repeatedly stated it won’t take back the reforms.
Modi also said his government would launch an e-commerce platform for trading of the products made by women selfhelp groups (SHGS) in villages.