Prime Minister Narendra Modi today pitched for value addition and use of scientific methods in agriculture to double income of farmers and making the country self sufficient.
Speaking at the launch of National Agriculture Market portal (eNAM) to integrate 21 mandis in eight states for online trading of commodities, Modi said agriculture sector needs to be seen in a holistic manner to provide maximum benefit to the farmers.
The Prime Minister said e-agri market is a "turning point" in the farm sector which will benefit not only farmers but also traders and consumers.
Modi asked states, where APMC law is not there, to come up with new mandi law to facilitate online trading. In those states where APMC law is in place, the Prime Minister urged them to make necessary amendments to ensure that the benefit of e-agri market reaches to farmers.
"Agriculture sector should not be seen in isolation. There should be an holistic approach towards agriculture sector and that's when the maximum benefit for the farmer can be ensured," Modi added.
To boost farmers' income, he stressed on the judicious usage of water, fertiliser and electricity and asked farmers to take advatage of soil health card scheme.
Modi said the government's initiative in the budget to allow 100 per cent FDI in food processing sector will help reduce wastage of fruits and vegetables, and promote manufacturing of value-added agri-products.
Highlighting benefits of e-agri market, the Prime Minister said this will improve the economic situation of farmers by enabling them to decide sale of their produce.
"This is a transparent system of agriculture trading, which will benefit farmers, traders and consumers. Farmers can decide when, where and at what price they can sell in the wholesale mandis online. Farmers will be not dependent on others. They will be able to decide on their own," he said.
Through this pilot launch of eNam, Modi said farmers can sell as many as 25 agriculture commodities in 21 mandis in eight states -- Gujarat, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh.
The government aims to integrate proposed 585 wholesale mandis much before March 2018.
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Modi said taking up allied activities like poultry farming, fishery, honeybee keeping, among others, will enhance income of farmers.
He also asked farmers to take up pulses in a big way to make the country self-sufficient. "Today, we buy pulses from overseas. Why not our farmers grow?"
Noting that 100 per cent FDI in food processing will empower farmers, Modi said, "If you sell raw mangoes you will get less money, and if you sell ripe mangoes you will earn more and if you sell pickle made up of raw mangoes then you get much better amount."
The Prime Minister said he has asked soft drink makers like Coca Cola to to mix 5 per cent natural fruit juice in aerated drink. This will boost demand for fruits and benefit farmers.
He also exhorted farmers to go for timber plantation on the boundaries of their farm fields for additional income.
Stating that states cooperation was necessary for early implementation of eNAM, Modi said: "There are some states where there is no mandi law. I request those states to make new law for farmers sake."
"In states where mandi law exist, they need to amend it as per the current scenario and changing technologies to facilitate online trading," he added.
Modi hoped that states will be pressured by farmers to give priority to eNAM after seeing its success in 21 mandis.
At present, there is no protection to farmers as they are forced to sell their produce in nearby wholesale markets.
"This scheme is such that it will not only benefit farmers but also traders and consumers. It is a rare scheme that benefits all three," Modi said adding that it would help government to monitor production.
The Prime Minister said modern labs at mandis will be set up to check the product quality to be sold via online market. This will ensure better price to farmers in a transparent way.
He expected that farmers would take benefit of this portal in a big way in the coming days.
Urging farmers to adopt 'per drop more crop' policy, Modi said the days of flood irrigation have gone now and more focus should on usage of micro-irrigation like drip and sprinklers that will help boost yields.
He also urged farmers not to rush to take another crop by burning wheat/paddy straw. Instead, suggested them to keep on their farm fields for a while to use it as bio-fertilisers. This will benefit farmers and help curb pollution.
While highlighting variours agriculture schemes launched by the NDA government, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh attacked the Opposition Congress for not doing enought for the farmers in their regime.
Without taking the name of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Singh said, "Their talk about farmers is a drama. ...They used to give slogans to empower farmers. But their actual intention was to strengthen their own family."
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said he has directed his ministry to ensure eNAM portal is simple for the benefit of farmers.
