While launching the “Kisan Bhagidari, Prathmikta Hamari” Campaign under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (25^th- 30^th April 2022) Union Agriculture Minister interacted with farmers across the country who were present in Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in towns and cities in various states across India. The purpose of the interaction was to make farmers aware of flagship schemes of Government of India and to assess the achievements and benefits that the farmers are gaining at the grassroots.

While interacting with farmers the Agriculture Minister outlined Prime Minister’s vision for the Agriculture Sector which is the backbone of the country. He said that the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is an example of transparency with the help of technology. He said while subsidies are given by states and central government ‘atmanirbharta’ is necessary for which adoption of technology, diversification of crops and maintaining quality in the export market is necessary.

The Minister told farmers that they should be willing to experiment and change with the times, they should be willing to use new variety of seeds, test the quality of their soil, join Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and utilize technology including drones. Farmers should also be willing to come under the protective shield of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). On Natural Farming the Minister stated that it is being promoted and ICAR is including it in the syllabus.

Shri Tomar said that KVKs and Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) are doing their best to take the developed technologies to the farming community. KVKs are pioneers in agricultural progress, having direct contact with the farmers. He said that in the year 2021-22, the export of agriculture and allied sector products was about four lakh crore rupees. In which the contribution of the farmers is commendable. The relentless hard work of the farmers, the skill of the scientists and the farmers' friendly policies of the government are yielding results and income of farmers is also increasing continuously, which has also been revealed during the interaction with the farmers present at various KVKs across the country during today’s inaugural campaign.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture Shri Kailash Chaudhary said that during the interaction with farmers across the KVKs he was happy to note that some farmers have more than doubled their income in recent times.

"Kisan Bhagidari Prathmikta Hamari" campaign is being dedicated to strengthen the farming community. The campaign was launched by Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar. In this, lakhs of farmers, many MPs and other public representatives and scientists participated through fairs in 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras and other agricultural institutions across the country.

As part of "Kisan Bhagidari Prathmikta Hamari" Krishi Mela at each KVK was organised today in association with ATMA. Awareness programmes on Organic Farming, Natural Farming, Startups, APMCs, e-NAM, FPOs were also organised. Seminars, workshops on horticulture activities were also conducted.

Union Agriculture Secretary Shri Manoj Ahuja, Director General of ICAR Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra expressed their views during the inaugural session. Joint Secretary Shri Samuel Praveen Kumar conducted the proceedings. Joint Secretary Shri Ritesh Chauhan proposed vote of thanks. Various central ministries are involved in this campaign.

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