TASK FORCE TO BE CONSTITUTED FOR
RESTRUCTURING KRISHI
VIGYAN KENDRAS
A Task Force will
be constituted for restructuring Krishi Vigyan Kendras and make
them more farmer friendly. This was announced by the Agriculture
Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh at the 74th Annual General
Meeting of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
Society here today. The Task Force to be headed by the Minister
of State for Agriculture, Shri Hukum Deo Narayan Yadav will submit
its report within three months. The Minister said that farmers
are not able to get the benefit of new technologies to the extent
possible. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen and restructure
Krishi Vigyan Kendras to help them serve small and marginal farmers
in a more effective manner. Shri Rajnath Singh expressed the Government’s
determination to make good quality seeds available to farmers.
For this purpose, a scheme is being formulated by the Agriculture
Ministry. The Agriculture Minister also stressed the need to bring
down the prices of various agricultural inputs including seeds
and fertilizers to bring about improvement in the standard of
living of farmers. He said that this is the top priority of the
Government. Talking about WTO, the Minister said that no country
can afford to remain away from the process of globalization. However,
he assured that the interests of the country’s farmers would not
be compromised at any cost.
Shri Rajnath Singh
said that promotion of bio-technology, bio-farming and bio-fuel
are the three priority areas for ICAR. More research has to be
done in these three areas and benefits of the research have to
be taken to farmers. This will ensure increase in production and
productivity while maintaining ecological balance at the same
time. The Minister welcomed the participation of the Private Sector
in agriculture and said that both the private and public sectors
can work together to ensure rapid agricultural development. Underlining
the importance of extension services in agriculture, Shri Rajnath
Singh sought the cooperation of State Governments to ensure that
full benefit of research reaches the farmer.
Earlier, the Director
General of ICAR, Dr. Mangla Rai presented the Annual Report of
the Organisation. The Minister of State for Agriculture Shri Hukum
Deo Narayan Yadav was also present on the occasion.
