PM Modi discusses ways to boost agriculture sector

PM Modi discusses ways to boost agriculture sector, bats for rapid reforms in farm marketing

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday deliberated on reforms required in the agriculture sector and stressed the need for making strategic interventions in the existing marketing eco-system. "Special emphasis was given on reforms in agriculture marketing, management of marketable surplus, access of farmers to institutional credit and freeing agriculture sector of various restrictions with appropriate backing of the statute," said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in a statement. Concessional credit flow to strengthen agriculture infrastructure, special Kisan Credit Card saturation drive for PM-Kisan beneficiaries, and facilitating inter and intra-state trade of agriculture produce to ensure the fairest return to farmer were some of the important areas covered during the meeting. Developing e-NAM into a platform of platforms to enable e-commerce was also one of the important topics of discussion. "The discussion also emanated on the possibilities of the uniform statutory framework in the country to facilitate new ways for farming, which will infuse capital and technology in the agrarian economy. The pros and cons of biotechnological developments in crops or enhancement of productivity and reduction in input costs were also deliberated," added the statement. The challenges of model land leasing act and how to protect the interest of small and marginal farmers were also taken up for discussion in the meeting. "Developing brand India, creation of commodity-specific boards/councils and promotion of agri-clusters/contract farming are some of the interventions that were deliberated to boost agriculture commodity export." The use of technology in the agriculture sector is of paramount importance as it has the potential to unlock the entire value chain for the benefit of our farmers. Prime Minister Modi also emphasised on the dissemination of technology until the last mile and making farmers more competitive in the global value chain. It was decided to further strengthen the role of FPOs to bring vibrancy in the agrarian economy, transparency in agriculture trade and enable maximum benefits to the farmers. The overall emphasis was on revisiting the existing laws governing the market for better price realisation and freedom of choice to the farmers. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Home Minister Amit Shah and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar among others attended the meeting.