Modi woos small farmers, bats for ‘natural farming’

Lucknow

Taking up the cudgels for small farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 11 claimed his government was committed to the welfare of farmers having land holdings of less than two hectares.

“For the first time since Independence, a government is in power which is striving to ensure that the small farmers get all the targeted benefits,” Modi said, addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the nearly-Rs 10,000-crore Saryu Nahar National Project in Balrampur district of eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Besides, he suggested farmers adopt ‘natural farming’ for higher returns. “We are organizing a big function on ‘natural farming’ theme on December 16 and I invite all the farmers to watch the programme on TV. I am confident the farmers will understand the concept and implement it.”

Natural farming, he said, will fetch the farmers higher returns with the same amount of farm inputs, including soil and water.

Recalling the various steps to empower small farmers, Modi said PM Kisan was providing them direct financial support even as new schemes had been launched to bolster allied activities such as fisheries, livestock rearing and beekeeping, for increasing their incomes.

“Today, India is the leading milk producer while farmers have earned Rs 700 crore through honey exports. Biofuel is also emerging as an alternative farm value chain,” he underlined.

“Big biofuel complexes are coming up in UP. The new ethanol plants will also help the farmers. UP is poised to play a vital role in the production of ethanol from sugarcane. Nearly Rs 12,000 crore worth of ethanol has been procured from UP alone,” he said.

Ahead of the high-stake 2022 UP assembly polls, Modi has been proactively reaching out to the farmers, especially in the backdrop of the recent farm stir over the three central farm laws, which have since been annulled by Parliament.

“After coming to power in 2017, the Yogi government has speeded up cane payments. More than 20 sugar mills were closed during the previous regimes,” he added.

Meanwhile, the inaugurated canal project involves interlinking five rivers, viz. Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga and Rohini, to optimize irrigation in nine eastern UP districts. It will cater to 1.4 million hectares of land and benefit nearly 3 million farmers spanning 6,200 villages.

Modi said the canal project was started when the outlay was pegged at merely Rs 100 crore with the current project cost touching Rs 10,000 crore, an increase of 100 times. “The previous governments were only interested in cutting ribbons, while we are committed to completing projects within the timelines.”