JOIN USThe scheme would soon come into effect after the government gives its approval, said director general of ICAR Dr S Ayyappan here on Saturday. He was speaking at an interaction programme with farmers here. The Farmer First aims to help farmers stick to agriculture and farming introducing sweeping reforms in farming techniques. Agriculturalists would be sensitised on new machineries and their advantages. The ryots would also be taught on effective utilisation of the land ,cost effective yield generation and production. All these steps would enable ryots to stick to farming, he said.
“The country has achieved sustenance and self sufficiency in food production. About 240 million tonne of food was produced in the year 2010-11. But, the migration of rural people to green urban pastures was a matter of concern. The Farmer First programme will see that the youth are sensitised on the benefits of farming and new technology,” Ayyappan said.
About 52 per cent of the country’s population was dependent on agriculture and agricultural products. The agriculture sector contributes 14 per cent of the total GDP. The centre has also plans to bring reforms in agricultural marketing system to provide a direct farmer-consumer link. The programme would be launched in future days, he said.
Agricultural scientist Dr Mahadevappa said the government should ensure that fertile agricultural lands are not acquired for industrial development. There was need to bring agriculture into school syllabi.
On the occasion, Dr Ayyappan, who hails from Chamarajnagar was honoured. The programme was organised jointly by the district administration and agricultural department.
MP Dhruvanarayan, agricultural scientist Dr Kulkarni, additional deputy commissioner Dr H T Chandrashekar, and others were present.