Centre developing infrastructure near farms for benefit of small, medium farmers: Tomar

03/09/2021

New Delhi, Sept 2: The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday said the central government is developing infrastructure near farms for the benefit of small and medium farmers.
Tomar was addressing the 16th Sustainability Summit 2021 of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as the Chief Guest on Thursday. Speaking at the occasion, the Union Minister said, "Due to severe climate imbalance, some regions are facing droughts while others are struggling to control floods. The government is serious about such adverse climatic conditions and our scientists are also working very diligently to develop innovative seed varieties, which are compatible with such climatic conditions." He said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian farmers with their hard work could achieve bumper production. India being an agricultural country, the contribution of the agriculture sector to the GDP has always been significant. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, about Rs 1,57,000 crore have been deposited in the bank accounts of more than 11 crore farmers of the country so far.
The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which will prove beneficial for other industries including food processing. In order to make agriculture profitable for small and medium farmers, infrastructure is being developed near the farms as part of the concrete steps of the government, said Tomar.
In this regard, the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund of Rs 1 lakh crore has been created, through which projects are being sanctioned. Projects of more than Rs 4,000 crore have been approved. 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) will be formed in the country under the new scheme of the Centre, the work of which has started.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the scheme will provide a better market to the farmers and enhance their income.
"It is a matter of pride for the country that we have cracked into the top 10 list of agricultural produce exporters and we want to further enhance it. For the benefit of the farmers, the agriculture sector is being connected with state-of-the-art technology. Along with more than 70 Kisan Rail in the country, farmers are also being benefited through Udaan Yojana," the Union Minister said.
Tomar emphasised that the central government has brought the Agriculture Reforms Act, which will bring about a radical change in the field of agriculture.
"With the new farm laws, the whole country will be an open market for the farmers. The private sector can also now invest in modern agri-business platforms, setting up post-harvest facilities like godowns-cold storage. This will pave the way for better facilities for the farmers at lower charges. It is very important for the development of the agriculture sector. These reforms have created substantial investment opportunities and have tried to bridge the gaps," he added. (ANI)

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