RELATED
NEW DELHI: Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh is open to the idea of using genetically modified (GM) technology to increase farm productivity, saying the government will go for it "if it is absolutely necessary".
After formally taking charge of his ministry, Singh on Wednesday hinted at the possibility and spelled out his other plan to launch big-ticket schemes in the farm sector including a nationwide "rural irrigation programme" and a "new insurance scheme" to protect farmers' income in the case crop failure.
Sticking to BJP's manifesto which spoke about "protection and promotion of cow and its progeny", Singh — an old RSS hand and five-time MP from East Champaran in Bihar — also said that his ministry would work to conserve "indigenous breed of cows".
In his first meeting with officials, he is learned to have asked them to prepare a roadmap to implement all the "doable" suggestions as reflected in the BJP's manifesto including amendments in the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act and cooperative laws within "two to three months" (100 days).
"I held a meeting with ministry officials and we have decided that we will bring 'Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sinchayee Yojana' similar to the 'Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana' which was launched during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's regime," Singh said.
Without giving any timeframe, he told reporters that his government was very serious about launching it. He said that 44% of the country's cultivable land was bereft of irrigation facilities, affecting majority of the small and marginal farmers across the country.
Emphasizing on having an effective crop insurance policy which can protect farmers, Singh said his ministry has decided to bring "Kisan Aya Bima Yojna" which would take into account average income of farmers in the last 5-7 years while devising a compensation scheme.
If the government launches such schemes, it will be a much needed improvement over the existing schemes which do not treat an individual farmer as a unit while providing compensation against insurance. The present scheme takes villages or a group of villages as a unit while deriving at the compensation formula and therefore, it invariably tends to benefit big and medium farmers.
"The Centre will bear the burden of premium for insurance of average income. Farmers will take interest in agriculture only when their investment is guaranteed," Singh said.
The minister also said the government would soon take a decision on the proposal to fix the minimum support price (MSP) of kharif crops. Besides, there is a long-term plan to fix the MSP at 50% more than the cost of production, he added.
Addressing his maiden press conference, he also emphasized on setting up more central agriculture universities in different parts of the country.
Asked what he — being an MP from Bihar — would do for his home state, Singh said, "If India develops, Bihar will also develop."
After formally taking charge of his ministry, Singh on Wednesday hinted at the possibility and spelled out his other plan to launch big-ticket schemes in the farm sector including a nationwide "rural irrigation programme" and a "new insurance scheme" to protect farmers' income in the case crop failure.
Sticking to BJP's manifesto which spoke about "protection and promotion of cow and its progeny", Singh — an old RSS hand and five-time MP from East Champaran in Bihar — also said that his ministry would work to conserve "indigenous breed of cows".
In his first meeting with officials, he is learned to have asked them to prepare a roadmap to implement all the "doable" suggestions as reflected in the BJP's manifesto including amendments in the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act and cooperative laws within "two to three months" (100 days).
"I held a meeting with ministry officials and we have decided that we will bring 'Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sinchayee Yojana' similar to the 'Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana' which was launched during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's regime," Singh said.
Without giving any timeframe, he told reporters that his government was very serious about launching it. He said that 44% of the country's cultivable land was bereft of irrigation facilities, affecting majority of the small and marginal farmers across the country.
Emphasizing on having an effective crop insurance policy which can protect farmers, Singh said his ministry has decided to bring "Kisan Aya Bima Yojna" which would take into account average income of farmers in the last 5-7 years while devising a compensation scheme.
If the government launches such schemes, it will be a much needed improvement over the existing schemes which do not treat an individual farmer as a unit while providing compensation against insurance. The present scheme takes villages or a group of villages as a unit while deriving at the compensation formula and therefore, it invariably tends to benefit big and medium farmers.
"The Centre will bear the burden of premium for insurance of average income. Farmers will take interest in agriculture only when their investment is guaranteed," Singh said.
The minister also said the government would soon take a decision on the proposal to fix the minimum support price (MSP) of kharif crops. Besides, there is a long-term plan to fix the MSP at 50% more than the cost of production, he added.
Addressing his maiden press conference, he also emphasized on setting up more central agriculture universities in different parts of the country.
Asked what he — being an MP from Bihar — would do for his home state, Singh said, "If India develops, Bihar will also develop."
No comments:
Post a Comment