Two progressive farmers from Hisar meet Prime Minister

Two progressive farmers from Hisar district who have made a mark in promoting pulses got an opportunity to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. They were among 15 progressive farmers selected from across the country as part of the ‘Self-Reliant Campaign for Pulses’ organised at the Pusa Institute in Delhi.

The farmers, Krishna Kumar, of Rawalwas village, and Shashi Kumar Beniwal of Kharia village interacted with the Prime Minister for 30 minutes.

They said the Prime Minister talked to them about promoting crop yield. Beniwal, a 35-year-old farmer, said that it was a great honour to meet the PM. He added that the PM inquired about their field innovations which bore results.

Beniwal said he started cultivating chickpeas on one acre in 2013. He then gradually expanded the area and cultivated the crop over 13 acres. “Later, other farmers also started cultivating chickpeas. Now, about 500 acres of chickpeas are cultivated in the village,” he added. He plans to cultivate moth, another pulse, from next year.

Besides his own three acres, he has taken 14 acres on lease. He said that he was not using pesticides or artificial fertilizers on pulse crops. The Prime Minister also asked Krishna Kumar about his success story, who revealed that he was cultivating the crop by using natural methods and minimal irrigation without the aid of any chemical fertilizers. He said that the farmers could earn between Rs 1 to Rs 1.25 lakh per acre on this crop.

Hisar’s Deputy Director of Agriculture, Dr Rajbir Singh, and agronomy expert Dr Som Prakash said that it was a matter of pride for the district that both Haryana farmers had been selected from Hisar district.