The recently announced agri reforms and private sector investments will speed up the growth of the Indian Agriculture Sector” opined Dr Arvind Kumar Sharma, Hon’ble MP (Lok Sabha – Rohtak) and Smt Sunita Duggal, Hon’ble MP (Lok Sabha – Sirsa). The Hon’ble MPs made the remarks while addressing farmers at the “Haryana Kisan Goshthi on Development of Agriculture & Horticulture Value Chain as a Strategy for Enhancing Farmers’ Income” at the CII Agro & Food Tech 2020 organised over virtual platform. The Kisan Goshthee was attended by over 350 farmers from across the districts of Haryana.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Arvind Kumar Sharma, Hon’ble Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha – Rohtak), Government of India mentioned that the recent reforms will accelerate growth in agri & allied sector through private sector investment in building infrastructure and supply chains for farm produce in domestic and global market. He assured the farming community that the government is with the farmers and will not bring any laws that are detrimental to the Indian Agriculture Sector.
In her address, Sunita Duggal, Hon’ble Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha - Sirsa), Government of India, requested that the Government Institutions viz. NABARD and Haryana Horticulture Department amongst others should organise camps in rural areas to hand hold farmers regarding how to obtain loans, form clusters, etc. She emphasised that to realise the vision of doubling farmers’ income, organised efforts are required by both the Government as well as the private sector.
Dr Arjun Singh Saini, Director General – Horticulture, Government of Haryana stressed on the commitment to increase farmers’ income through their initiative to build cluster pack houses in Haryana and building their linkages with the market.
In his address, Rajiv Mahajan, Chief General Manager, NABARD (Haryana Region), remarked that NABARD has released over INR 7000 crores to banks in Haryana for promoting credit to farmers. He further invited entrepreneurs to take advantage of the NABARD supported Incubation Centre at the Haryana Agriculture University.
Dr Arvind Kapur, MD, AcsenHyveg highlighted the need to further synergise Government & Industry in agri sector for ensuring profitable product value and creainge new employment opportunities for farmers.
In his address, Puneet Thind, Founder & Director, Farm Grocer Products Pvt Ltd stated that agriculture in India needs a cluster approach for adopting uniform practices across aggregation, distribution and marketing linkages.
Udit Mangal, VP – Business Development, Pluss Advanced Technologies Pvt Ltd underlined the importance of cold chain solutions to increase shelf life of agri produce and to further transport the same to far flung areas, thereby enhancing farmers’ income.
Sharing the perspective of the farmers, Jasjeet, a Farmer from Haryana stated that “the recently announced 3 Farm Bills have instilled confidence amongst farmers as these bills will help putting our agriculture on the path of development”. In his remarks,Jasjeet requested the Government of India to continue with the provision of MSP for small farmers and monitoring the purchasing practices of private buyers.
