With the launch of the 15-day, nationwide campaign, Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 29, it is now being taken across 20 states by Union Agriculture Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who launched it in Odisha’s Puri district on Saturday.
Members of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and scientists from 113 Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICARs) will travel to almost 700 districts from May 29 to June 12 where they will be assisted by 731 KVKs, state-level departments and officials of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries and innovative farmers. With the start of the kharif sowing season, the campaign aims to bring scientific know-how to farmers in the hinterlands.
Hailing the campaign, Chouhan said it will encourage demand-driven research on the basis of feedback coming from villages.
Congratulating the scientists, Chouhan said research will now not be taking place in a lab in Delhi, but in villages where the stakeholders – farmers – would be able to spell their requirements and challenges.
“Agriculture remains the backbone of the Indian economy,” said the agriculture minister, adding the initiative is a “concrete step towards transforming Indian agriculture and securing the food future of the country through scientific innovation and grassroots participation”.
On May 29, the Prime Minister had launched the campaign via video conferencing and addressed the nation, saying a changing world demanded that agriculture, despite being a state subject in India, be reformed in tandem with evolving markets and consumer preferences.
“… In today’s rapidly changing times, there is a need to bring comprehensive reforms to Indian agriculture. Our farmers have filled food reserves by producing record yields. However, markets are evolving, and consumer preferences are changing,” said the PM.
“Therefore, this is a humble effort to bring about changes in the agricultural system by working together with farmers and state governments. The goal is to modernise Indian agriculture, and for that, this campaign aims to initiate direct discussions with farmers. Under this campaign, our teams of scientists are taking the concept of “lab to land” forward in a major way. They will provide farmers with modern agricultural knowledge backed by data and will support them before the season begins,” he added.
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