M A I N   N E W S

Modi falls back on pet mantras to boost agriculture output
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 29
Outlining his vision for agriculture in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for “lab (laboratory) to land” — extending technological and scientific expertise — to farmers.

He drew a roadmap for the sector and defined the role of technology in increasing production and water conservation. He felt that if enough income was not generated for farmers, it would be challenging to achieve the targets.

“Kisan ki jeb bharni chaiye (farmers should be able to earn a good income)”, “Kam zameen, kam samay, zyaada upaj” (less land, less time, more crop) and “per drop, more crop” were some mantras he offered while addressing the 86th foundation day of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). “Per drop more crop can become our mission statement so that a farmer has awareness about water conservation,” he said.

“We have to prove two points. One is our farmers are capable of feeding the whole country and the world. Second that the agriculture is capable of filling their pockets,” he said.

“Therefore, our policies and actions should be focused on this,” he stressed asking the audience to give a “standing ovation” to the millions of Indian farmers, who have played a huge role in changing India’s fortunes.

Emphasising the need to take scientific technologies to agriculture field to boost farm production and meet growing food demand, he expressed concern over import of cooking oil and pulses. Modi showed the zest he displayed while addressing poll rallies during the General Election. Highlighting the issues faced by the agriculture sector, he mocked the idea of holding conferences in hotels when the aim was conservation of natural resources. He summarised his idea of a “blue revolution”. He said after green (agriculture) and white (milk) revolution, there should now be "blue revolution" to represent the blue Ashok Chakra on the Indian tricolour.