Union Agriculture Minister,Radha Mohan Singh said that Central Government is considering to increase the norms of National Disaster Response Fund. He urged the State Governments to utilise the amount in the State Disaster Response Fund with reference to compensation in the context of unseasonal rains. He also mentioned that State Governments have been authorised to notify disaster in local context and expenditure for relief can be met from State Disaster Response Fund within the limit of 10 percent of the fund available under the State Disaster Response Fund. He urged State Governments for memorandum on the area affected by the unseasonal rain as soon as possible so that a proper assessesment may be done by the Central Government.Singh said that with the concerted efforts of Central Government, despite the rain deficit of 12% in monsoon last year, there has been only a decrease of minimal 2% in the sowing area and there has been very insignificant decrease in the overall production.
Radha Mohan Singh emphasised that understanding the intiatives of Central Government like the Soil Health Management System, Soil testing laboratories, ‘Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana’, Unified National Agriculture Market and ‘Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana’ is important to improve the agriculture productivity. He said that organic farming has an important role in agriculture Production. He mentioned that an allocation of Rs 300 cr has been made for the current year to promote organic farming. 50 or more farmers can form a group and their 50 acre land will be considered for organic farming and will have provision for Rs 20,000 per acre for a period of a three years. This includes proper care from production level to final marketing of the crops. He said that promoting Horticulture development is important with development of fisheries and dairy sector.He mentioned about planning at district level for implementation of ‘Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana’. He emphasised that proper marketing facilities for the agricultural crops is important. He mentioned about eMarketing with new Software to connect markets. Various aspects related to Kharif crops like pulses, Maize, Rice were discussed during the presentation in the Conference. Integrated crop management, seeds, fertilisers, nutrient management, balanced use of fertilisers, Soil nutrient analysis, use of bio-fertilisers, coordination with various departments of Ministry of Agriculture were discussed in the conference “National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign 2015” organised in National Agriculture Science Centre, Pusa, New Delhi today.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Agriculture, Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundaria said that increasing production is important along with decreasing the cost of production. He emphasised that Soil Health Card will help to understand the details related to soil nutrient and how to improve the productivity. Soil and Water are resources which needs to be optimally utilised for the betterment of the production of vegetable crops. He urged the participants of the programme to share knowledge during the conference to understand innovative ways to improve productivity. He said that the Expert knowledge from the participants will help understand how to utilise soil and water, considering the soil nutrients.
Union Agriculture Minister, Radha Mohan Singh urged the State Governments to extend their fullest cooperation in meeting the challenges of Agriculture Sector and work in synergy to make the initiatives of Central Government a huge success.Present on the occasion were Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundaria, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandary, Dairy and Fisheries and Secretary, Department of Agriculture Research and Education and senior officials of Ministry of Agriculture along with officials from State Government Agriculture Officials.