Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje said that India has increased agricultural production over the years and with that it has become one of the 10 top countries that export the highest quantity of agriculture produces.
She was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of ‘Meri Policy Mere Haath’ programme under the Pradhan Mantri Raita Suraksha Fasal Bima Yojana at Agriculture College campus at Karekere near Hassan on Sunday.
The Union Government, the minister, had taken many steps to make agriculture a profitable occupation. The efforts were on to increase the farmers’ income. The farming community would get technical support to reduce the input cost and add value to their products.
Last year, she said, the farmers had contributed to the gross domestic product by producing over 305 lakh tonnes of produces. The government had also increased its spending on the agriculture sector, she said.
Ritesh Chauhan, Joint Secretary to Government of India, explained the benefits of Fasal Bima Yojna and the Meri Policy Mere Haath initiative. Under this programme, every farmer would get the documents pertaining to the policy. The State Government in Karnataka had been implementing it effectively, he said.
Exhibition
As part of the programme, an exhibition of latest equipment used for agriculture purposes was held. A demonstration of applying chemicals using drones attracted the audience.
Hassan MLA Preetham Gowda, Principal Secretary of Agriculture S.R.Umashankar, Commissioner Brijesh Kumar Dixit and senior officers of Hassan district administration were present.
