Haryana today said it will join the online national agriculture market platform to ensure farmers can get better returns by selling their produce in other states.
In the first phase, it plans to link 54 'mandis' with the national agriculture market.
"We will be linking our 54 mandis out of 108 with national agriculture market in the first phase. With this, our farmers will get market in other states as well," Haryana Agriculture Minister O P Dhankar told reporters here.
He noted that at present, farmers have limited market opportunities to sell their produce.
Citing an example, the minister said, "At present, a cotton farmer in Sirsa will have to either sell his produce in the local mandi or take it back home if low price is offered."
"With linking of mandis with national agriculture market, a trader in Ambala or any other place can also buy his crop. With this move, farmers will be get good and competitive market and it will not be limited to one market. There will be e-trading.
"In Sikkim recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting of all state agriculture ministers and discussed national agriculture market," he said, adding that Karnataka was the first state which opted for the initiative.
The national agriculture market will create a unified market through the common e-platform and provide better price to farmers, improve supply chain and reduce wastages.
On the issue of implementation of recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission, the minister said that the state was already implementing several of its recommendations.
"The commission had recommended Rs 10,000 per acre compensation for crop loss and in Haryana we are giving Rs 12,000 per acre.
"Swaminathan Commission had suggested crop insurance. We are going to implement recently launched national crop insurance from Kharif season.
"It had suggested improvement in irrigation. We are taking steps in this regard. We are starting 14 irrigation projects in collaboration with Israel on pilot basis to ensure each field gets water. We are also strengthening our canal system," he said.
On the commission's recommendation of giving 50 per cent
profits to farmers, Dhankar said that it will be implemented step by step.
"At present, 20 per cent profit is being given over and above the MSP of wheat and paddy. But it (50 per cent) cannot be implemented in one go. The Centre has also pointed out one problem in this regard. It fears that it could lead to monocropping, which means production of few crops will go up. Until we start purchasing all crops, we cannot get out of monocropping. It can be implemented step by step," he said.
Regarding the issue of promoting horticulture, he said the state government will open centres of excellence in each district to promote horticulture and floriculture.
"We are in talks with Vietnam and Israel for the centres of excellence. We also want to promote ornamental fishing," he said.
Dhankar, who also holds the portfolios of irrigation, animal husbandry and fisheries, said that Haryana was supplying water to Delhi as per its requirement.
"But our issue with Delhi is that the water which we get from Delhi is untreated and we have taken up the matter with Kejriwal government and Union Minister Uma Bharti. Untreated water was being supplied to Mewat, Palwal and Faridabad," he said.
On the issue of compensation to cotton growers, he said once the election code of conduct is withdrawn, the state will start distributing compensation to growers who faced crop loss due to whitefly attack last year.
