New Delhi, June 21 (IANS) Union Minister of Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday assured the states that the Centre is committed to procure 100 per cent of Tur, Urad and Masur produced by farmers at the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) to ensure crop diversification and achieve self-sufficiency in the production of pulses.
Chairing a virtual meeting with agriculture ministers of various states at Krishi Bhawan here, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the e-Samridhi portal has been launched through National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) for registration of farmers and the government is committed to procure these pulses at MSP from farmers registered on the portal.
He urged the state governments to encourage more and more farmers to register on this portal so that they can avail the facility of assured procurement.
The minister also informed them about the new Model Pulses Village scheme which is being rolled out from the current Kharif season.
He requested the state governments to utilise the fallow lands which are available for pulses after the rice crop is harvested.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan also asked the state governments to take up inter-cropping of Tur in a vigorous manner.
He mentioned that the state governments should share their best practices with each other and interstate visits should be undertaken for this.
The Minister mentioned that the elected representatives such as MPs and MLAs should be actively involved in the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).
The Union Minister emphasised the need for crop diversification towards cash crops and the need to restore the fertility of the soil.
He stressed the requirement for timely and quality inputs to farmers, such as good quality seeds for increasing productivity, and assured maximum support regarding this.
The meeting was called as the government wants to prioritise the increase in production of pulses in the country with a view to reducing imports.
He informed the state ministers that the government of India has opened 150 Pulse Seed Hubs and Cluster Front Line Demonstrations (CFLDs) are being given by the ICAR for making seeds available in low productivity districts. He mentioned the need to develop climate-resilient varieties and short-duration varieties so that the effects of climate change could be countered.
The Union Minister requested the state governments to strengthen their seed delivery systems by strengthening the State Seed Corporations.
Agriculture Ministers of the major pulses producing states, namely Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, Telangana were present during the meeting.
The state governments appreciated the efforts being made by the Centre through the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and assured of full cooperation.
They mentioned that since the monsoon has been predicted as above normal, the targets set by the Central government are very likely to be achieved.
The states recognised the need for increasing the distribution of high yielding varieties of seeds and also the need for increasing the area under pulses on an urgent basis.
The Union Minister assured all the support to states and invited all state agriculture ministers to Delhi to hold a detailed meeting to discuss the agriculture scenario and any issue collectively.
Union Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ram Nath Thakur and Bhagirath Chaudhary, Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja and Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Himanshu Pathak were also present in the meeting.
–IANS
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