Centres to be set up to give tech help to farmers: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today approved setting up of service centres for farmers in the state to provide latest technical assistance to them.
At a meeting here, he said in the current scenario when returns from agriculture were diminishing with every passing day, the need of the hour was to boost production by roping in best experts of this field.
Badal said dedicated staffers would be made available across the state to assist farmers in using latest technology of sowing and harvesting. These centres would be controlled by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), an official release said.
The CM said these centres would also run surveillance and awareness campaigns to make the farmers aware about threats to their crops and suggest remedial action.

He said the responsibility of bailing out the farmers of the state from the current agrarian crisis lies on the shoulders of PAU and the state agriculture department.
Both these organisations, along with Krishi Vigyan Kendras, should channelise their all might to ensure that agriculture was made a profitable venture, he said.
He asked the officers to ensure that staffers recruited in these bodies work at the grassroots level.
Badal said these advisory bodies must also make farmers aware of the high returns from allied farming sector like dairy, fishery, piggery and apiary.