India’s sustainable agriculture a model for others, natural farming priority: PM Modi

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, August 3
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday flagged natural farming as the top focus of the government and said India’s sustainable agriculture could serve as a model for many countries.
Addressing the 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists, happening in India after 65 years, the Prime Minister said agriculture was at the centre of the government’s economic policy with 90 per cent families in the country holding small lands.
"These small land holders, marginal farmers are the biggest strength of India’s food security. The same situation with regard to small land holdings persists in many Asian nations which is why the Indian model can come in handy for many countries," Modi said.
He informed the delegates that natural farming was yielding good results in India and the future focus of the just presented Indian Union Budget would be climate resilient farming.
"Over the past decade we have given as many as 1900 climate resilient seed varieties to our farmers. We have such rice varieties that require 25 % less water than traditional rice varieties. Black rice grown in India is becoming a super food...Indian millets are equally nutritious," he said adding that India, which at one point of time, was a global concern in the realm of food security is today giving food and nutritional security solutions to the world.
Going forward, the Prime Minister said India was committed to global welfare in its role as "vishwa bandhu (a friend of the world) and was a food surplus nation today, with a range of agriculture related solutions in the times of climate change.
"Challenges before sustainable agriculture and food systems can only be tackled under the holistic approach of ‘One Earth, One Family and One Future," the Prime Minister said.
He earlier welcomed the delegates on the behalf of 120 million farmers, more than 30 million women farmers, 30 million fishermen and 80 million livestock farmers and also flagged India’s ancient legacy of agricultural science.
He said agriculture in India grew on the foundation of a thousands-year-old vision, mentioned in ‘Krishi Parashar’, a 2000-year-old treatise on agriculture based on rich national heritage.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research itself has more than 100 research institutes and over 700 Krishi Vigyan Kendras.

Committed to global welfare

• At the 32nd International Association of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said natural farming was yielding good results and the future focus of the Union Budget would be climate resilient farming
• Going forward, he said India was committed to global welfare in its role as "vishwa bandhu (a friend of the world) and was a food surplus nation today, with a range of agriculture related solutions in the times of climate change
• “Challenges before sustainable agriculture and food systems can only be tackled under the holistic approach of ‘One Earth, One Family and One Future,” the PM said