Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar says the world is looking at India with huge expectations in the area of food security. He was addressing the National Conference on Agriculture for the Zaid/ Summer Campaign in New Delhi today.
Stating that India is the fastest-growing economy in the world, he said that the Centre and the State governments must work in tandem to fulfill the expectations of the people of India as well as the world.
The Minister flagged subsidy on chemical fertilizers as a matter of great concern for the government as it is spending around 2.5 lakh crore rupees on it.
The Minister stressed the need for policy intervention at the state level to reduce subsidies on chemical fertilizers in the future. Mr. Tomar added that the money spent on the subsidy can be used for other welfare schemes for farmers.
Mr. Tomar emphasised the importance of soil health cards and informed that 22 crore soil health cards have been distributed in the country so far.
AIR correspondent reports that the objective of the Zaid conference is to review and assess the crop performance during the preceding crop seasons and fix crop-wise targets for the summer season in consultation with State governments.
The conference also deliberated Upon other issues including, the PM Kisan scheme, expansion of digital infrastructure, cluster development, availability of fertilizers, impact of climate change.
Speaking at the conference, Agriculture Secretary, Manoj Ahuja, said that climate change is impacting the production of crops in the country. He called for contingency plans to deal with such situations.
Later, talking to reporters on the sidelines of the conference, Mr. Ahuja said that the government has decided to set up a committee to monitor the situation that arises due to heat waves.
He informed that guidelines will be issued to farmers to take appropriate steps to deal with rising temperatures.
Source: newsonair.com
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