5th Agrovision 2013 inaugurated. Exhibition from December 26-29
Nagpur News.
The government should give a subsidy for those farmers who do organic farming and use organic fertilizers for a period of three years. He added that when our rule comes into being, we will definitely give subsidy for all those farmers who do organic farming using organic fertilizers. He said this during his address after the inauguration of Agrovision 2013.
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He lauded the efforts of Nitin Gadkari for organising the Agrovision 2013. He said that he is happy that farmers from other states too come to participate in this event. It is obvious that farmers will definitely benefit from this expo. He said that before independence, 75 per cent of our population depended on Agriculture. Today more than 50 per cent have reduced because the populace has migrated to urban areas. The reason also because that the income generated from Agriculture cannot even support or feed a family. We should encourage the farmers in our country so that agriculture starts yielding more income and people return to the villages and get involved in agriculture using modern methods and techniques. He said that there is a lot of new technology and advancements available for agriculture so that the income generated from agriculture increases and farmers are capable of supporting and feeding a family. He also said that there are many research organizations that work for the benefit of farmers. ICR is one such organization. The results of the research do not reach the farmers. The results of the research especially soil survey if it reaches the farmers can aid them to perform better. Rajnath Singh said that there is a demand for organic food and for organic fertilizers etc all over the world. He said that they are so popular in Italy, Germany, Argentina, America and other countries. We should capture the organic farm sector. We should in fact try and understand why we are able to tap the organic farming sector. He claimed that chemical fertilizers only caused problems. The next important thing that the farmers of Vidarbha should concentrate on is Food Certifications. There are many problems. If we want to promote agriculture, we should ensure that Certifying Agencies should be opened in all the districts of every state. Soil testing and the benefits should also reach the farmers.
Any sensitive government would have issued soil health cards. Till date even after so many years of Independence, farmers do not have Soil Health Cards.
One of the major concerns is the price that the farmers get for their produce. He said that the farmers should be allowed to market their own produce. He said that farmers grows onion and potatoes and sells it to middlemen for Rs 10-15 which is sold in the market for Rs 80-100. He said that the middlemen should be abolished and the farmers should be able to sell his produce in markets made specifically for them. If agriculture grows many of the problems like poverty, unemployment, economic downfall existing now can be solved. He dwelt on how the rupee is falling down as compared to dollar. The economic condition too is falling very badly. He said that at the moment we have a Current Account Deficit. If we concentrate on improving our agriculture, then we can come to a stage when the rupee value increases and we will have a Current Account Surplus stage. We can cut down our inflation too. If we want to sustain and make agriculture profitable then the soil and the society should be connected. A stage should come when our sons return to the soil and enhance our agricultural yield using more advanced techniques and methods.
The guests who were prominently present on the occasion included Former Agriculture Minister and National Chief of BJP Rajnath Singh, Former Chief of BJP Nitin Gadkari, Kishore Biyani, Girish Gandhi, Prabhakar Rao, and Shiv Kumar. Immediately after the arrival, the guests went on a tour to all the display units to see the agro-products, machinery and other agro-based machinery.
The students of Shrimati Binzani Mahila Mahavidyalya rendered the invocation song. This was followed by the guests lighting the traditional lamp. Organising Secretary of Agrovision Ravi Boradkar introduced the guests and elaborated about Agrovision, its participation etc. With a great pride he said that Farmers from not only Vidarbha, but also from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh & Andhra Pradesh come to participate in the Agrovision. If this is not enough, he claimed that since the organizers of Agrovision hold such important lectures and workshops that are beneficial for agriculture that farmers from Orissa, Haryana, Punjab and other states also come and participate in the Agrovision. With the knowledge gained by farmers about farm mechanization, nearly 4 per cent increase is seen. Many farmers have also learnt new farming methods and techniques. He also thanked the corporate houses and companies for the support and cooperation.
The Convener of Agrovision and former MLC Girish Gandhi made the welcome remarks. He lauded the efforts of Nitin Gadkari who understood the problems of the farmers in Vidarbha and 5 years ago decided to do something for the farmers in a manner that could benefit them in the long run. So this Agrovision came into being. With this also a new hope rekindled in the hearts of farmers. After attending the seminars and workshops, the farmers in Vidarbha started new crop patterns, new fertilizers, newer methods etc. He claimed the farmers attended the workshops with a diary and pen and took notes given by resource persons. He said that the Government of India also has taken note of the necessity of expo and has decided to host a similar workshop in February in the city.
President, NSAI & CMD, Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd, M. Prabhakar Rao said that if the agricultural produce increases, the growth of the country also increases. These kinds of Agrovision exhibition only increases knowledge and will in-turn benefit the farmers. The best practices and techniques adopted by some farmers if shared with other farmers will certainly aid the others to also adopt such techniques and increase their yield. He elaborated that because of some good and hybrid seeds, the production of Cotton increased from 6000 quintals to 9000 quintals. In some areas, the yield increased from 5-9 to 15 quintals. He also talked about the increase in Sugarcane yields nearly 4-5 times. He said that soil testing techniques, drip irrigation methods are some of the techniques that have helped to increase the yield. He added that the seed manufacturing industries and companies got a lot of cooperation and help from Rajnath Singh when he was the Agriculture Minister.
Founder & Group CEO of Future Group Kishore Biyani lauded the efforts of Nitin Gadkari in organising the expo. He said that how modernization can be beneficial. He also said that this expo will help the farmers increase income by price realizations from 20 to 30 per cent. He also dwelt on Modern retail practices. He also said about the demand creation, how the supply cost can be reduced. He said that some of the practices advocated here in the expo make it a win-win-win situation for the famers.
He elaborated that the subject of food is recently being stressed upon at all levels of the government and plays an important role in the international market too. He said that 60 per cent of India relies on the farm income.
Divisional Chief Executive, Agri- Business Division of ITC, S. Sivakumar said that ITC has been involved in Soya bean production in Vidarbha and said that the production of Soya bean has doubled. Next year the company expects the yield to increase more. This year with the help of newer seeds, weeding etc, there has been a significant increase of 30 per cent. The second most important factor that the farmers of Vidarbha should concentrate on is the irrigation conservation. He said that the farmers should take care to conserve water and also to try water harvesting.
This was followed by the Release of Exhibitor directory and Agrovision Release of Purti magazine by the guests.
Nitin Gadkari said that they have been successfully organizing the Agrovision for the past 4 years. This is the fifth year. He claimed that they started this Agrovision with an aim to understand the needs of the farmers in Vidarbha and to provide solutions. He claimed this expo may stop the suicides among the famers, if they understand better farming techniques, getting their soil tested, grow the right of crop and get a better yield and fulfilling the financial burden on them. He said that there are workshops and seminars that are going to cover 40 important topics and expert resource persons from the field will be speaking to the farmers.
He said that after employing some of the techniques, the sugarcane yield was worth Rs. 70,000 for the last two years.
He said that we should concentrate more on organic farming and organic fertilizers. He claimed that they are using it in their own farms too. What is important is the knowledge of technology and its advancements which can be employed in agriculture. He claimed that out of farm waste they can produce ethanol which when added if petrol, petrol can become cheaper by Rs 5 per liter.
Gadkari also said that we should strive and remove poverty. He claimed that if knowledge and technology reaches the farmers, the yield will improve and in-turn solve many of their problems. If everyone cooperates, in the next two years, more than 50,000 youth can be employed in agriculture in Vidarbha alone. The farmers can earn more than Rs 1000 crores per annum. He dwelt on water conservation and said that it is the duty of the local leaders to also get involved and try and make sure water conservation is done. He said that one of the systems of water conservation is the check-dam system. He said about some of the latest techniques like solar powered pumping of water into the field if power supply is not there.
He also said that Vidarbha offers good place for fisheries and dairy. He said that last year, when Sharad Pawar was here for the Agrovision he said that Vidarbha farmers could also try out Fisheries and Dairy to supplement income. With the international flights starting soon, the fishes, shrimps and lobsters can be exported to foreign countries. He thanked Kisore Biyani for starting a Pre-Cooling Plant at Mihan. He claimed that the farmers require more such plants. He also said that promotion of sericulture will aid our weavers too.
He claimed that during this expo, they will give free soil testing card. He claimed that there are many revolutionary steps coming up in Vidarbha. He thanked the entire corporate sector and all the companies who have participated in the expo.
The programme was compered by Renuka Deshkar.
