Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called upon states to formulate a strategy for agro-climatic regional planning, saying that agriculture has vast potential and the country imports edible oil of about Rs 65,000 crore which can be stopped.
In his opening remarks at 6th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog, the Prime Minister backed agriculture reforms stating that these are essential for farmers to get necessary financial resources, better infrastructure and modern technology.
The Prime Minister said the money spent on the import of edible oils should go to farmers.
"Agriculture has huge possibilities but we have to accept some truths. About Rs 65000-75000 crore is spent on the import of edible oils. It can be stopped. This money can go into the accounts of farmers. The farmer has the right to this money. For this, we will have to formulate plans. We tried it with pulses and we got success. Now money spent on import of pulses has come down considerably. The farmers have no difficulty in growing such products, they need guidance. There are many agri products that the farmers can produce not only for the country but the world. For this it is essential that all states formulate their strategy for agro-climatic regional planning and help farmers accordingly," he said.
He said the government has adopted a holistic approach to agriculture, mal husbandry and fisheries and the result has been that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a substantial rise in agriculture exports.
"But our potential is much more. There is a need to pay attention to storage and processing to minimise the wastage of products. And the all the potential that exists for investment, it has to be added," he said.
The Prime Minister said India exports raw fish to South East Asia and there it is sold with huge profits after processing as a processed product. "Can't we export processed fish products ourselves on a large scale. Can't our coastal areas make an impact on global markets by taking initiative? This situation is with many other places, products. Our farmers get necessary financial resources, better infrastructure, modern technology, reforms are very essential for this," he said.
The government has brought three new farm laws for reforms in agriculture. Protests are being held on the borders of Delhi against these laws since November 26.
The Prime Minister also referred to the liberalisation of norms concerning geospatial data and said this will help startups, tech sector and also improve the ease of living for the common man.
( With inputs from ANI )
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