New Delhi: Making a strong pitch for growth of farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the country cannot move forward without their progress and called for increase in crop productivity by 50 percent.
Launching DD Kisan Channel, which would provide information about best agricultural practices and related content, to mark the completion of his government's first year in office, Modi lamented that present system had left farmers to fend for themselves and there was a need to make the sector "vibrant and dynamic".
"Why experts from various fields including seed, soil and fertilizer cannot come together to help farmers and increase productivity... The farming community is a big one. And, if we have to take India forward, we will have to take the villages forward," Modi said.
Linking the issue of malnutrition with low production of pulses, he noted that the country was dependent on imports to meet its requirement of edible oil and pulses and urged scientific community to work with farmers to ensure that there was enough production to meet domestic demand by 2022 when India celebrates its 75 years of independence.
Though his over 40-minute speech dealt with various issues pertaining to farmers and their betterment he did not mention the contentious land bill on which his government is facing stiff opposition, including from NDA allies.
The Prime Minister observed that a study done over 200 years ago has shown that paddy productivity was 15-18 tonne per hectare without the help of advanced techniques and fertilizers, while the average grain production was now only 2 tonne per hectare. The world average is 3 tonnes, he said.
Invoking former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and his slogan 'Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan', which gave a fresh thrust to agriculture and led to a huge increase in grain production, he called upon farmers and experts to use modern science to give another boost to the sector.
Holding that agriculture has been a "neglected" field and considered the last choice after job and business, the Prime Minister said it has to be made "vibrant".
"The cycle has turned anti-clockwise. I think it needs to be turned back once again," he said while lauding the farmers for ending the India's dependence for foodgrains on foreign countries.
The Prime Minister emphasized the need for multi-cropping and diversification and expressed confidence that trillions of rupees spent on launching new satellites will help farmers by accurate prediction of weather.
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... 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.
"An atmosphere of trust will have to be created for this...We can do much through technology. A number of technological advancements has happened in the world in the field of agriculture. We need to work out how do you bring this intervention of technology," he said.
Modi also recounted his meeting in the past with "jeans clad" young farmers of Junagarh when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
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.
The Prime Minister advised the farmers to grow plants that produce oil on the 1200 islands spread across various states, saying the climate there was suitable for that kind of activity.
He, however, hastened to add that he is not a scientist and is only giving ideas, which can be accepted if found correct.
Modi said if farmers focus one third each on traditional farming, animal husbandry and growing timber wood, they will not have to depend on the government.
The Prime Minister said it is the small farmers who are feeding the nation and not the big ones.
"Farmers are such a big community in the country. We will have to think over how to reach the resources 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," Modi, whose government has often been described by the opposition as anti-farmer, said.
The Prime Minister also wondered how wheat and paddy production in certain parts of India used to be between 15 to 20 tonnes per hectare 200 years ago when there was no urea or potash. "At that time our ancestors must be having some knowledge, some science," he said.
The Prime Miinster said the Kisan channel is an attempt to reach the knowledge to farmers through farmers as he noted that it has become necessary to bring a big change in agriculture. "We need to work in mission mode," he said.
The Prime Minister was given a plough before he launched the channel. He also flagged off a Kisan Rath digitally.
Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh took a dig at the Congress saying those who ran the country for 67 years had left the opportunity for Modi to launch the Kisan channel.
In an obvious dig at Congress President Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, Singh said,"this country is Hindustan not Italy. As long as each farm does not get water, every hand will not get employment."
The Congress President has recently upped the ante against Modi government on farmers' issues, particularly the land bill.
