Central govt working to bring farmer-centric agricultural policies: Uttarakhand CM Dhami

Roorkee (Uttarakhand) [India], April 9 : Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday said that the Central government is working to improve the condition of farmers and make agricultural policies farmer-centric.

"The central and state governments under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have always been farmer-friendly. The extent of empowerment of the farmers is unprecedented. The Prime Minister is of the opinion that the confidence of the farmers of the country is the biggest strength of the country. The central government is working to improve the condition of farmers and to make agricultural policies farmer-centric", CM Dhami said.

The Chief Minister was attending the closing session of the State Working Committee of Bharatiya Janata Party Kisan Morcha at Rajwada Farm in Uttarakhand's Roorkee.

Speaking on the occasion, CM said, "It is the continuous effort of the government that the farmers of India should also get the modern facilities which are available to the farmers of the big countries of the world. It is the resolve of the Prime Minister that the journey from seed to market should not only be smooth for our farmer but it should also increase his income. In the past years, the traditional problems of farmers like shortage of urea, power cuts and irregular irrigation have been reduced, a protected environment has also been made available to farmers through schemes like Crop Insurance Scheme, Soil Health Card, Kisan Samman Nidhi and Kisan Credit Card."

CM Dhami said, "Food is available to us only because of the hard work and dedication of the farmers. Everything else is subtle in front of the hard work and tireless efforts of the farmers. Village, farmer and agriculture are the three pillars of self-reliant India, the stronger they are, the stronger the foundation of self-reliant India will be. For the country's balanced development, it is very necessary that our farmers, our food providers should be empowered. The empowerment of India is incomplete without the empowerment of farmers. The dream of a developed India can also come true only when our farmer is empowered. BJP Kisan Morcha is working towards building a bridge between the government and the farmers."

He further added, "India has always been an agricultural country. Our society developed around agriculture, our traditions were nurtured and our festivals were determined. Indian history is so rich on the subject of agriculture that we have ancient texts like Krishi-Parashara and Krishi Sukta."

CM said that scientific and advanced agricultural science has made India prosperous for centuries. Many such descriptions are found in history when people who came from abroad were bewildered by seeing the agricultural practices of India.

"The farmers of India, who consider the soil as their mother, have always fulfilled their basic duty. Our hardworking farmers have irrigated the earth with their hard work and sweat even when the country is faced with a food crisis. Due to its hardworking farmers, today India is not only self-sufficient in agricultural production but is also feeding other countries", he said.

The Chief Minister said that along with making agriculture modern and smart, the farmer is being made technically competent and able to catch the market's pulse. India has emerged as a major global player in orgc farming and the scope of orgc farming is continuously increasing in the country.

"Many farmers in our Uttarakhand are earning profit by cultivating herbs and flowers. Earlier flowers were cultivated in a total of 150 hectares only in the state, whose area has now increased to more than 1600 hectares. New innovative experiments are being done daily in the agriculture sector and innovation is being encouraged at all levels. Today farmers also use drones and artificial intelligence. Empowerment of marginal farmers is our first priority under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While making policies related to agriculture, special care is being taken that there is a minimum risk for small farmers in farming. Unprecedented efforts are being made to ensure that they get a fair and quick price for their crop and hard work", he said.

CM Dhami said that the state government has done many works in the last year. "Work on Uniform Civil Code is going on. Change of religion has been banned by enacting a strict conversion law. A strict anti-cheating law has been implemented in the state to make all examinations cheating-free. A new sports policy and a new education policy have also been implemented in the state."

"The cases of illegal construction on government land have come to the fore in various places of the state recently. Illegal construction will not be allowed on government land. The places where encroachments have taken place will be removed. Along with this, a special verification drive will be conducted soon in the state. He said that public interest is paramount for the state government. Our government will take the interest of the state on priority and will not back down from taking tough decisions", he added.

The CM visited the stalls at the event based on various schemes being run for the farmers by the Central and State Governments and also flagged off the Shobha Yatra.