Govt to announce Good Agriculture Practice policy soon: Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, GoI

13 Jul 2022 , 11:07 AM

Mr Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt of India said that the government is working on Good Agriculture Practice to benefit the Indian agriculture sector. There is a concern at the international level on having a sustainable agriculture, good agriculture practices along with environment concern. This is an area where the government has not yet come out with a policy, but we want to come up with a policy on Good Agriculture Practice. We would have a policy on this, and we would work together with the industry on this, he added. Addressing the conference on Scope of Public-Private Partnerships in Agriculture, organized by FICCI, Mr Ahuja added that micro irrigation is a priority area for the government. We will work out a model to provide easy financing along with providing subsidy so as to create a simple system for the farmers. We need to address these concerns, he highlighted. The Secretary further stated that it is imperative for the farmers to get easy and simple solutions to their problems through digital platforms. We believe in the ability of the farmer and if we give them support via non-financial intervention by providing IT solutions, he added. It would be beneficial for the farmers if we can provide these technology interventions through a common open source, said Mr Ahuja. While addressing the concerns raised by the industry, Mr Ahuja added that quality agri-inputs is also an area of concern for the government and steps are needed to further improve it. We can create NABL accredited labs under PPP or under viable gap funding along with robust IT systems for sampling and testing of various seeds, fertilizers and pesticides for supporting the farmers. Highlighting the importance of public-private partnerships in the agriculture sector, Secretary Mr Ahuja also asserted on the need for an improvement in the entire agriculture value chain to bring down the losses and create a win-win situation both for farmers and the industry. If we really need to scale-up our interventions, then we need to have a proper framework. Government can intervene to bridge the infrastructure gap in the sector, he added. Powered by Capital Market – Live News