They say ‘if you ate today, thank a farmer’. India is an agricultural country. Agriculture is our wisest pursuit because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness. Agriculture is the healthiest, most useful and most noble employment of man. Agriculture not only gives riches to a nation, but the only riches it can call her own. The discovery of agriculture was the first big step towards civilized life and its improvement and introduction of various technologies are taking us all towards transformation. Agriculture science has enormous potential to increase the yields of potential small farmers and lift them out of hunger and poverty. Rajasthan is one state in the country which was infamous for farmers’ suicides, but ever since current Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Smt. Vasundhara Raje took the responsibility, the tables have turned around in the state.
Vasundhara Raje has always given priority to the farmers of her state and why not, after all they are the actual ones who are feeding all. There have been many initiatives and plans that CM Raje has introduced for the welfare of the farmers in her state. The latest that she has done is announcing that the gypsum layer that is covering villages and farms of Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar, Hunaumangarh, Nagore, Barmer and other districts of the state, will be removed to benefit the farmers respectively. Due to this ‘gypsum’ the land in these areas became barren and even during rain, the land cannot absorb enough water for any sort of agriculture. This step by the government of Rjaasthan will improve productivity; increase the agricultural land and will benefit the farmers of the state to a higher extent. Not only this, this crucial step will also provide royalties to the state and would control illegal mining.
CM Raje and her team Rajasthan are continuously working towards another big project for the welfare of farmers- GRAM (Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet). GRAM is scheduled to be held in Jaipur from November 9 to 11, 2016. “GRAM is organized to grab opportunities as Rajasthan is the only state with 10 agro-climatic zones. A little improvement in the quality and quantity of production will surely boost a farmer’s income in Rajasthan” said Prabhu Lal Singh, Minister of Agriculture, while addressing a press conference. More than 50000 farmers are expected to be a part of it from around the country. Along with these farmers, GRAM will also be attended by representatives of Netherlands, Israel, Australia and Canada.
#GRAM will be ideal platform to showcase investment opportunities in Rajasthan’s farming sector to agri-business communities across globe.
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) August 30, 2016
With regard to GRAM, Neelkamal Darbari, the Principal Secretary of Agriculture and Horticulture said, “The primary objective of GRAM is to ensure economic empowerment of the people through accelerated yet sustainable growth in agriculture and to double farmer’s income by 2022. Large number of suggestions and inputs were discussed to make the event a success.” Various road shows under the leadership of various ministers of the state are being conducted to not only promote the event but also to make people and farmers aware of the event and the importance of farming and agriculture. The Principal Secretary of Agriculture and Horticulture, Government of Rajasthan, Ms. Neelkamal Darbari, said that “The main objective behind organizing such a road show is to showcase the better and worthy investment opportunities in the agricultural sector of the state and advertise it as an attractive investment destination. In the past years, Rajasthan has made significant development in the sector of infrastructure. Also, a major portion of its land is available for agriculture activities. With some support and the right guidance, the state has the potential to export its production in the coming years. Keeping this in mind, the Government has inculcated various policies and advances including 50% exemption in payment of Mandi fee and 100% exemption in land conversion charges.” The Minister added that “Other facilities like subsidy will also be available to different people associated with matters like research and development, post-harvest crop management, purchasing cattle, poultry and fish feed and units with a turnover of Rs 25 lakh or more. Online registration of MSMEs is also commenced to save time and cut-short the lengthy process.”
Key objective of @GramRajasthan is to expose farming communities to technological advancements & global best-practices in the sector. #GRAM
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) August 30, 2016
Through GRAM, farmers of Rajasthan and the country will be benefitted as they will be taught by new technologies, organic farming and other such farming techniques. We cannot have a happy, healthy and a peaceful continent without good agriculture, and so does CM Raje thinks.
