‘Integration of science and farming key to development’
Nagpur: “Gujarat could progress at the rate of 14-15% mainly because farmers and scientists here work in tandem. Also farmers in Gujarat follow diversified cropping pattern along with allied agriculture activities like dairy. Agriculture in any part of India can prosper only if farmers adopt integrated agriculture.”
This was stated by the Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani here on Saturday. Rupani was speaking at the inauguration of the three-day workshops for farmers at AgroVision, an agriculture and trade fair organized by the union minister for transport and shipping Nitin Gadkari.
Giriraj Singh, union minister of state for Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), gave a lot of emphasis on water management and conservation for successful and profitable agriculture. He said that the per capita availability of water was decreasing dramatically in the country and hence the need for strengthening the ongoing projects like the Jalyukta Shivar in Maharashtra. Industrialization and water also go hand in hand and hence water should be dealt with scientifically.
Gadkari in his address said that the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) had expressed its interest in buying milk from Vidarbha. He said that this meant that Vidarbha needed to create a cooperative sector in dairy industry. For this it also first need to research and start the milk industry based on good India breeds like Sahiwal and Gir.
CD Mayee, former chairman of the Agriculture Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB), said that Agro Vision was investing a lot in farmers’ education through workshops every year in the fair as it was proving to be a good training ground for the farmers since past seven years. A lot of revenue generated from the trade fair was spent on farmers’ education for bringing the best of expertise in agricultural science and technology for educating the farmers on the latest cultivation practices and technology.
This year workshops will be held till Monday on 24 different subjects where even the top experts from ITC, NDDB, Amul, various central and state government institutes in agriculture from the city and all parts of country would guide the farmers
