Ranchi, Nov 29 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das Thursday said the government will provide free mobile phones to 28 lakh farmers and a separate electric feeder for them for agriculture purpose.
The mobile phones will be given to the farmers by 2019/2021 with an aim to keep the middle men away and also help farmers to have greater information about the market, he said while speaking at the inaugural function of the two-day Agriculture & Food Summit here.
This will also help them (farmers) know about market rates and other information relating to agriculture, Das said.
Addressing the function in the presence of Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and other dignitaries, Das said a separate electric feeder would be set up by May next year for farmers for agriculture purpose, providing them six hours of uninterrupted electricity.
Das reiterated that power supply will reach to every household by December this year and by May, 2019 separate feeders would be set up for agriculture, for households and industrial usage.
By August, 2019, 24x7 power supply will be available in rural areas, he added.
He gave credit to the farmers for the state jumping to 14 per cent agriculture growth from minus 4.5 per cent registered four years ago.
To give more fillip to the agriculture growth, we have to make you (farmers) modern farmers, ensuring production at international yardstick and for that this Summit has been organised, he said.
He said the state government has sanctioned sufficient funds for the development of agriculture and allied activities and framed a food processing policy, which is focused on bottling and packaging as food processing was important link between the farmers and the urban customers.
On the on-line foundation laying ceremony for the 50 food processing units, Das said it would create employment for the youth and the farmers would get right cost for their products.
He said that the condition of villages did not change in the 67 years and it was only when Prime Minister Narendra Modi that steps were taken to improve the condition of the farmers and a goal was set to double the income of farmers by 2022.
The chief minister suggested the farmers to try and earn one/third of their income from agriculture, another one/third from animal husbandry and yet another 1/3rd from horticulture/floriculture.
He also asked the farmers to embark upon solar farming on barren land, which would help them increase their income, and the government will procure through grid at three rupees per unit.
The chief minister also announced that the government will foot the premium of interest generated from loans taken by farmers if the latter returned the loan amount within one year of taking the loan.
Calling upon the farmers to use modern technology in farming as they are living in an era of globalization, Das asked the farmers to also focus on dairy production and bring white revolution by 2022 in the state, besides focusing on organic farming----all of these will help double their income by 2022.
In his address on the occasion, NITI Ayogs CEO Amitabh Kant said that no other state in the country has seen as much turnaround of farmers life as Jharkhand in the last four years and expressed hope that in the coming years the income of farmers would climb to four times.
Work to taking forward farmers is being successfully going on in Jharkhand. No other state in the country has seen as much change as in Jharkhand farmers life, Kant said and expressed hope that in the coming years the income of farmers would not only double up but would climb to four times.
Kant commended Jharkhand for achieving 19 per cent growth rate in agriculture.
He also said the state is working on how to produce maximum yield with minimum water while the state registered 83 per cent growth in fish production.
Stating that the central governments goal is to double the income of the farmers by 2022, Kant said that efforts were on to produce tomatoes, onions, peas and other vegetables.
Kant encouraged the farmers to take up organic farming.
Jharkhand Chief Secretary Sudhir Tripathi said that the state is doubly-blessed----mineral-rich and agriculture-rich.
Tripathi said in the last four years several initiatives in the agriculture sector has been taken up----single window, soil health card, women self-help groups, farm producers groups, revival of water resources and krishi bazaar modernization among other steps.
