The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu today emphasized that dialogue is the way forward to resolve the issues raised by farmers.Interacting with a group of progressive farmers on the occasion of ‘Kisan Diwas’ at his residence in Hyderabad, Shri Naidu said that any issue could be resolved through talks and added that the government has already declared that they are always ready to hold a dialogue with the farmers organizations.Expressing his happiness to interact with the farmers on the occasion of ‘Kisan Diwas’, he said that food security and progress of the nation were closely linked to agriculture, which has to be protected and made sustainable and profitable.Stating that the government has taken many initiatives with a view to doubling the income of farmers, he stressed the need to increase productivity and make agriculture climate-resilient. There was also a need to promote crop diversification, organic farming and nutrition-rich varieties.The Vice President said it was equally important to create adequate infrastructure, including cold storage facilities, transport and marketing mechanism for farmers. He said the e-NAM facility would help the farmers to effectively market their produce.Highlighting the need to supplement the income of farmers, he quoted a study carried out by MANAGE, which revealed that there were no suicides by farmers, who had taken up allied activities and backyard poultry. Shri Naidu lauded the country’s farming community for their selfless service in producing record food grains in spite of the hardship caused by COVID-19 pandemic.The farmers, some of whom came along with their family members, shared their experiences with the Vice President.
All of them informed the Vice President that they were quite happy after switching over to organic and natural farming as they were getting good profits because of diversification and intercrop cultivation.Although, their families were initially hesitant about organic and natural farming, they changed their attitude on seeing good results and encouraged them to follow traditional farming. The farmers said that with less input costs, they were getting better and higher yields. They were using technology along with traditional methods and getting better results. The farmers said that marketing is the key for the success of agriculture.In the end, the farmers expressed their happiness that they could interact with the Vice President and share their experiences.Progressive farmer, Shri G Nagaratnam Naidu, from Chittoor, informed the Vice President that he was implementing integrated farming, bio-diversity and effective water management. He was cultivating a wide variety of crops by using less water.Shri Devarapalli Harikrishna, from Bhadradri Kothagudem district, a techie-turned farmer said that he was using modern technology to promote organic farming and was getting good results.Shri Byrapaka Raju, from Nagarkurnool district said that he was a distressed farmer once but has turned into an inspiration to other farmers. He is cultivating 500 types of seeds and was giving advice to farmers through social media groups.A farmer-couple, Smt Lavanya Reddy and Shri Ramana Reddy, from Nagarkurnool district, said that they were into organic farming and cultivating paddy and pulses. They were also marketing their produce on their own.Shri Sukhavasi Haribabu from Ranga Reddy district informed that he was into horticulture and was growing a wide variety of fruits and medicinal plants by adopting integrated farming methods.Shri Yadlapati Venkateswara Rao, a recipient of Padma Shri and Editor, Rythu Nestham was also present.Earlier in the day, the Vice President conveyed his greetings to all farmers, who are working relentlessly for the country’s food security.