Prime Minister Narendra Modi released 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient and biofortified varieties of crops at the India Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and highlighted that significant milestones are on the horizon as farmers are increasingly adopting natural farming.
While interacting with the farmers on Sunday at PUSA, PM Modi noted that farmers are conscious of their responsibility towards Mother Earth and are voluntarily transitioning away from pesticides.
He said that this shift towards natural farming is yielding better results for them.
The Prime Minister was also seen holding an umbrella as it started raining heavily during the interaction with the farmers. The officials urged the PM that the interaction be canceled but he insisted that he would interact with farmers despite rain. He also offered to hold umbrellas for farmers as well.
The Prime Minister suggested solutions for the farmers to adopt new varieties of seeds. He asked farmers whether they were open to using new varieties of seed or waiting for others to use it first. PM Modi suggested the farmers use the new variety in a small section or at four corners of their land and use it after the satisfactory results of their experiment.
He also reiterated his commitment to working at triple the speed in his third term, citing the recent initiatives for farmers as evidence. The PM expressed immense joy in dedicating these new crop varieties to the farmers.
PM Modi also underscored his emphasis on research and innovation in agriculture. He recalled the iconic phrase “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” coined by Lal Bahadur Shastriji and the subsequent addition of “Jai Vigyan” by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The PM highlighted how he has added “Jai Anusandhan” to this phrase, giving utmost priority to research and innovation. He said that the release of 109 new crop varieties is a tangible outcome of his focus on Innovation in agriculture, bringing research to life on the ground.
Among the field crops, seeds of various cereals including millets, forage crops, oilseeds, pulses, sugarcane, cotton, fibre and other potential crops were released. Among the horticultural crops, different varieties of fruits, vegetable crops, plantation crops, tuber crops, spices, flowers and medicinal crops were released.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Sunday, “109 varieties of seeds of 65 crops have been prepared …I congratulate the scientists for producing these varieties of seeds. The 109 varieties of seeds will increase the profit of farmers, be useful for the nutrition of the public and increase the export…PM Modi wanted information directly from the lab to the land.”
“In three different places, PM Modi has dedicated 109 varieties of seeds to the nation…PM Modi had a conversation with farmers and scientists…PM Modi also gave some suggestions to the scientists…It is the resolve of the government to increase the income of the farmers…It is an ongoing process, those seeds which are released today then it will take one year from the breeder to foundation seed…” he added further.