Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday said there is a need to increase the share of farm sector in the country's GDP to 50 per cent from the current 14 per cent and stressed on balanced use of fertilisers to protect soil health as well as boost crop yields.
Addressing a conference for awareness of fertiliser application among farmers, Tomar said the productivity and production of all kharif (summer-sown) and rabi (winter-sown) can be enhanced substantially through proper use of fertilisers in right quantity and as per the soil conditions.
The balanced use of fertilisers would also boost farmers' income, he added.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has been focusing on ensuring prosperity of villages, poor and farmers since it came to power in 2014, Tomar said.
"We have also been focusing on soil health and already distributed 8 crore soil heath cards to farmers," he added.
Tomar said the share of agriculture in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) is currently 14 per cent, but this is not enough.
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"Can we increase this to 50 per cent of our GDP?" urged Tomar while addressing to hundreds of farmers here at the conference.
The minister told farmers that excessive use of fertilisers would destroy agriculture fields. He also spoke about the need for more usage of micro-nutrients to improve soil health.
Tomar highlighted that the Centre has fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of crops at least 1.5 times of production cost and is also providing Rs 6,000 per year to around 14 crore farmers under the PM-Kisan scheme.
He said about 8 crore farmers have already got benefit under the Rs 87,000 crore PM-Kisan scheme. The amount under this scheme is being transferred directly into farmers' account and there is no corruption involved, he added.
On the sidelines, Tomar urged farmers not to burn crop residues as it affects solid health and leads to air pollution. He asked them to take advantage of various government programmes to deal with stubble burning.
Speaking at the event, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers D V Sadananda Gowda said there is a need to pay attention on soil health. He highlighted that the Centre is providing subsidy on various fertilisers.