PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ New Tehri
The minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Ganesh Joshi inaugurated the district-level “Save the Farm Campaign,” organised by the Agriculture department in Pantwari, Nainbagh here on Monday. Ploughing himself the fields with a power weeder, he discussed various farming and horticulture topics with local farmers and assured them that their demands related to fencing, local roads and agriculture would be met at the earliest. The Agriculture department officials said that the main objective of this programme is to realise the dream of a healthy soil, empowered farmers and a prosperous India by protecting the soil and ensuring farmer well-being and crop growth.
Addressing the farmers present at the programme, Joshi said that this campaign is being conducted in all the nyaya panchayats across the state and urged them to adopt natural farming. He also exhorted them to join the Millet Mission and sell their produce to the Cooperative department through local groups and FPOs at the minimum support price of Rs 5209 per quintal applicable this year.
He interacted with the farmers in the Pantwari area and listened to their problems. Following farmers’ demands for a motorable road to access their farms, he announced the construction of a motorable road with a stretch of 1.5 to 2 km. He stated that the construction of this road would facilitate the transportation of agricultural produce and further promote agricultural activities in the region.
Joshi also inspected the farm of a beneficiary farmer and observed the apple orchard set up there. Appreciating the innovations being made by the farmers in the field of horticulture, he said that fruit production in the hilly areas is becoming an effective medium to increase the income of the farmers. He also expressed happiness over the cluster- based farming being adopted by the farmers in the Jaunpur area of Tehri. “The State government is continuously working to connect the farmers with modern agricultural techniques and doubling their income,” he added.
Among the dignitaries present included the chief agriculture officer Vijay Devradi, the district chief development officer Varuna Agarwal and
Dhanaulti MLA Pritam Singh Panwar.
