Haryana Horticulture Dept. Singed an MoU with International Potato Centre

The Haryana Horticulture Department signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with International Potato Centre (CIP) in the area of Potato on the first day of three-day Agri Leadership Summit 2018, in Rohtak. The MOU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal and Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Mr Parshottam Rupala.

While Dr. Samarendu Mohanty, Asia Regional Director signed MOU on behalf of CIP, Director General Horticulture, Dr Arjun Singh Saini signed on behalf of the State Government.

This Joint Initiative will help in selection of short duration early heat tolerant virus resistant varieties including processable varieties. Besides, it will also help in multiplication of clean, disease free planting material and to develop potato value chain and markets in India. The CIP will provide training and capacity building of extension officers and progressive farmers.

Chandigarh, March 24—The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal, criticized the Opposition parties for misguiding the farmers on the issue of Swaminathan Commission Report and said the present state government had implemented maximum recommendations of the report in the interest of the farming community.

So much so, even Mr Swaminathan has expressed satisfaction over the efforts made by the state government to implement the recommendations of his report, Mr Manohar Lal said while addressing a largely attended gathering after inaugurating the 3rd consecutive Agri Leadership Summit-2018 in Rohtak, today.

In agriculture, neither the cost of production nor the benefit lies in the hands of the farmers. The Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, has announced that from the next year minimum support prices (MSPs) for all notified crops would be at least 1.5 times their cost of production. The price of sugarcane in Haryana is the highest in the country, he added.

The Chief Minister said in order to cover the risk factor involved in agriculture, the state government had taken several steps. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) has been implemented under which eight different crops are being covered. Apart from this, the state government has implemented the Bhavantar Bharpayi Yojna to cover the losses of the farmers.

The main objective of this scheme is to ensure that farmers do not face any loss on the base price of their crops, he said adding that initially four crops, including potato, onion, tomato and cauliflower, had been included in this scheme.

The state government has taken care of other crops also and constituted a separate Kisan Kalyan Pradhikaran. In case the farmers suffer any loss, it would be compensated by this Pradhikaran. He assured the farmers that in no circumstances they would have to throw their produce on the roads.

Mr Manohar Lal said his government had made available adequate water for irrigation. It is for the first time in the last 25 to 30 years that water has reached 292 tail-ends in southern Haryana.  Water would also reach the remaining seven tail-ends this year, he said adding that the previous government used the farmers only as a vote bank only.

He exhorted the farmers to produce alternate crops instead of the traditional wheat and rice as these required comparatively less water. They should also use drip and sprinkler irrigation. Out of the 14 pilot projects of micro irrigation envisaged by the present government, eight are being implemented in the state.

Now, it has been decided to produce solar power from pond water and use it for irrigation purposes. Out of the total 14,000 ponds, about 6,000 ponds are overflowing and the water of these ponds would be tapped for generating solar power, he added.

The Chief Minister said the Agri Leadership Summit had been organized not for the farmers only but for all those related to agriculture. He urged the progressive farmers to apprise at least ten other farmers of their area about the welfare schemes of the Centre and the state governments so that they could also increase their income. Each district has 50 to 200 progressive farmers and they earn Rs 1 lakh per month per acre, he added.