Nashik, July 22 Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate on Tuesday announced that the implementation of a new scheme titled Krishi Samruddhi Yojana, with the main objective of increasing farm income and bringing real prosperity to the lives of farmers by encouraging climate-friendly, sustainable and cost-effective agriculture while empowering farmers.
On the birthdays of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, he said that this is a gift for farmers across the state to promote prosperity in agriculture.
The government has issued a government resolution in this regard at a time when the farmers are reeling under financial stress due to the damage caused by unseasonal rains and also amid market volatility.
“Farmers in Maharashtra are an important component of the state's rural economy. A new scheme has been announced by the Agriculture Department to provide financial assistance to encourage capital investment in the state's agricultural sector. The Cabinet has approved a total provision of Rs 5,000 crore per year for the next 5 years, starting from 2025-26 (Rs 25,000 crore in the next five years) to provide funds for the Krishi Samruddhi Yojana,” said Kokate.
Kokate explained that the main objective of the Krishi Samruddhi Yojana is to increase capital investment in the agricultural sector and create infrastructure, reduce production costs, increase productivity, diversify crops, strengthen the value chain, and increase farmers' income by promoting climate-friendly and sustainable agriculture.
He expressed that the Krishi Samruddhi Yojana implemented by the Agriculture Department will bring true prosperity to the lives of my farmer brothers and sisters.
Kokate’s announcement comes amid raging controversy over the video that went viral about him playing rummy in the state council during the just-concluded monsoon session of the state legislature.
Despite a chorus for his resignation from the opposition and farmers' organisations, the Agriculture Minister has refused to step down. Instead, he has sought an investigation into the allegations levelled against him, saying that if found guilty, he will resign.
He also stoked a new controversy on Tuesday when he said that the government is a “beggar and not the farmers.”
The Chief Minister has expressed his displeasure over Kokate’s clarification that he was not playing rummy, saying that the agriculture minister made a mistake and dismissed his clarification.
“When a serious discussion was ongoing in the State Assembly, it is unacceptable that the minister was caught playing Junglee Rummy. We have to acknowledge that Kokate has done wrong. Ministers or MLAs should be seen reading papers and documents in the House. A minister playing online rummy during a session is not acceptable to us, and his clarification is also not convincing,” he said.
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