CM reviews performance of Agriculture & Horticulture Depts
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 3 Sep: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, while reviewing the Agriculture and Horticulture Department in the Secretariat here, today, directed the officials to make effective efforts towards increasing the economy of farmers in the state more rapidly. He instructed them to ensure that farmers get the benefit of various schemes as a package. He also stated that more programmes and events should be organised at the state and district levels so that farmers can get the full benefit of various schemes being run by the Central and State Governments.
The Chief Minister directed the officials at the meeting to expedite the construction of polyhouses. He said that the polyhouse scheme would prove to be helpful in increasing the income of farmers and promoting self-employment. The Chief Minister said that polyhouses should be constructed in the state according to the target set for each year.
The CM added that farmers should be benefited from the Agricultural Mechanisation Scheme. Under this scheme, subsidy of up to 80 percent is being given to farmers on purchase of agricultural equipment. The Chief Minister also directed the officials to connect farmers with the Farm Machinery Bank Scheme rapidly. He insisted that all the Gram Panchayats should be linked to the Farm Machinery Bank Scheme at the earliest. Dhami observed that more effective efforts are needed to promote millets in the state. An action plan should be made every year to increase productivity along with increasing the crop area. Special attention should be paid to the value addition of the products. He issued instruction to the officials to ensure that natural farming is promoted more effectively and aggressively.
The Chief Minister also called upon the officials to speed up work under the Apple and Kiwi Missions. Along with increasing the production of apples, special attention should also be paid towards packaging and marketing. He said that the increase in apple and kiwi production will prove to be a game changer in increasing the economy. The Chief Minister noted that there are many possibilities in the field of aromatic plants in the state. He said that farmers should be motivated to take up aromatic farming.
In the meeting, it was shared through a presentation that, in order to increase the financial condition of women, so far 28 women have been linked with Namo Drone Didi Yojana. This year, 280 women will be linked with this scheme. Under the State Millet Mission Policy, currently 1,000 women’s groups have been formed and a target has been set to increase the number of these groups to 3,000 by 2025. It was also shared that under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, 5,000 women farmers are being provided organic farming training for self-employment. Participation of women is also being increased in the field of tea production and aromatic agriculture and processing.
It was claimed that special attention is being given to e-facility in the agriculture and horticulture sectors. Many innovations are being taken up in the agriculture and horticulture sectors in the state. ‘Timru the Uttarakhand’ perfume has been launched in the state, which has also been praised by the Prime Minister. It was also claimed that natural farming is being promoted in the state. The annual calendar of agriculture and horticulture has also been released. A target has been set to build 23,342 polyhouses in the state by 2027. So far 8,500 polyhouses have been built.
Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi, Vice-Chairman, Infrastructure Monitoring Council, Vishwas Dawar, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, Additional Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, Principal Secretary RK Sudhanshu, Secretary SN Pandey, Additional Secretary Ranveer Singh Chauhan, Anand Swaroop, Sudipti Singh, Director Aromatic Plant Centre Nripendra Chauhan and various officers concerned were present in the meeting.
