Modi reaches out to farmers, launches Kisan Channel

Reaching out to farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today made a strong pitch for their prosperity and development of villages, saying it was directly linked to the progress of the country.
Launching DD Kisan Channel, which would provide information about best agricultural practices and related content, the Prime Minister said that agriculture had so far been a "neglected" field and there was a need to make it "vibrant and dynamic".
Modi, whose government has been projected by the Opposition as "anti-farmer", chose the occassion to highlight the NDA's committment to farmers and rued that they had been left to to fend for themselves.

"Farmers are such a big community in the country. We will have to think how to make resources available to them. We will have to move forward accepting the fact that if our country has to progress, the villages of the country will have to progress.
"If villages have to progress, then agriculture will have to be developed by giving it a priority. This is directly related to the economy of India," he said.
Asserting that there was a need to change the mindset that farming was for "not so bright", he said earlier agriculture used to be the first choice of occupation but now it is the last option to be exercised by the youth.

"The cycle has turned anti-clockwise. I think it needs to be turned back once again...The youth of the country, who have turned away from agriculture can again take it up if we bring modern technology to the farm and field," he said.

Making a strong push for use of modern technology in agriculture, the Prime Minister said that if the country has to move forward, villages will have to be developed and this can be done only by promoting agriculture. "There is a need to create an atmosphere of competition in the field of farm production at tehsil level," he said.

Exhorting farmers to link agricultural activities with global requirements, he underlined the importance of guiding them about the global economy vis-a-vis production policy.
While his over 40-minute speech had no mention of the contentious land bill on which his government is facing stiff opposition, including from NDA allies, Modi spoke at length about various issues pertaining to farmers and their betterment.