Govt directs agri-machine makers, dealers to sell at same price: MoS agri

Farm machine makers and dealers have been directed to sell their products at the same price across the country, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Shobha Karandlaje said on Thursday.

The minister made this statement in Goa during a review meeting with the state's Agriculture Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar and officials on the implementation of centrally sponsored farm schemes.

Karandlaje lauded state Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the state's agriculture minister for doing "amazing work" for the better implementation of the farmers' welfare in Goa.

She also honoured woman farmer Darshana Pednekar at the Goa Secretariat, who received accolades from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for her modern agricultural practices.

"Price of agricultural mechanisms should be the same in every state. It should not differ in different places in the country. The Government of India has instructed dealers and manufacturers to put the same price list across the country," an official statement quoted the minister as saying in the review meeting.

While discussing ways to develop agriculture in Goa, the minister suggested the state government to put into use digital technologies, to provide updated crop production-related know-how, arrangement of critical agri-inputs, primary soil and seed testing facilities and arranging interface with the public and private sector.

She also asked the state government to put in place digital methods for crop survey to assess the loss suffered by farmers during floods and drought.

Technology for this purpose has been developed and farmers can themselves click photos of the field/ loss suffered, upload it on the app, she said and added that farmers from Karnataka and Gujarat are already using these digital methods.

"Once data is uploaded, expert panel members can quickly review the situation and take necessary action," she said suggesting that the state should adopt the 'Swayampurna Mitra' technology for crop survey.

Stating that farmers should get good and quality seeds, the minister said all the seed packets entering Goa should be authenticated using a quick response (QR) code system.

"We should see that the seeds should bear QR code and should contain information such as quality, licence number, place, etc, which gives the end-to-end data for seeds," she added.

Besides, the minister said cultivation of sugarcane and production of jaggery may be increased as there is a big demand for jaggery for export.

Further, she encouraged the setting up of an integrated supply chain of fruits and vegetables, the funds for which will be provided over and above that is available in the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).

The minister assured that the issue of tenants under the PM-KISAN would be resolved at the earliest, as she stressed the need to strive to become self-sufficient in three products -- milk, vegetables and fodder, the statement added.