Badal inaugurates Punjab Kisan Vikas Chamber

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today envisioned that farmers' advisory body Punjab Kisan Vikas Chamber (PKVC) would be instrumental in transforming agriculture and allied activities as a profitable venture.
Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the PKVC, he said that this non-political organization would help agrarian economy to stage a come-back as this platform would prove to be a milestone in putting the views of eminent agriculture experts and economists across the state government as well as Centre in streamlining the policies related to agriculture and allied farming.
He said that this farmers' autonomous body would certainly help in lobbying to get their genuine demands accepted at the Centre's level through persuasion within the democratic means.

Badal said this Chamber on the pattern of industrial organizations like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), PHD Chamber of Commerce, Assocham and FICCI would provide affirmative say of peasantry in the policies and programmes related to agricultural and allied activities.
He hoped that PKVC would go a long way in exercising its affirmative say in the policy intervention to safeguard the interests of peasantry not only in the state but also at the Centre especially in getting remunerative Minimum Support Price (MSP) of crops recommended besides favourable fixation of the prices of fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides to ensure farming a profitable venture, which was now passing through severe financial crisis.

The chief minister said that constant churning of new ideas and innovative techniques by experts and farm economists of national and international repute during deliberations in the chamber would also help the farmers and others associated with allied sectors like dairying, beekeeping, piggery, fishery, horticulture to improve economic lot with the paradigm shift from 'sustenance to disposable income'.

Badal also impressed upon the Patron and President of the Chamber to also explore possibilities in the field of food processing to enhance the income of farmers manifold through value addition besides marketing backup support.
He said that eminent academicians and experts in different fields of agriculture and allied services have been nominated in this prestigious organization.

Badal said that the state government has spent Rs 20 crore on the building of this chamber and Rs 10 crore has been kept as corpus fund to manage its expenditure.
He said that the chamber would engage the services of renowned agriculture experts for seeking their advice on matters related to the agriculture sector.
"This would help the chamber to contest their claims vigorously with the central and state government in a meaningful and result oriented manner," he said.