Table of Contents
Chouhan blames past Cong. governments for problems in agriculture sector
Centre has set six priorities to improve farming, he says
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Aug. 2, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on August 2 that the “anti-farmer mentality” of the past Congress governments was the reason for the problems plaguing the agriculture sector at present.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during a debate on the functioning of his Ministry, he alleged that the priorities of the previous Congress governments for the sector were wrong.
“Anti-farmer mentality is in the DNA of the Congress,” he said and alleged that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to implement the “Russian model” of agriculture in India, which was opposed by farmers’ leader Charan Singh, who later became the Prime Minister. He said the policies of the Congress government led to the import of wheat from the United States and the lack of remunerative prices for agriculture produce. “Things have changed after Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister,” he said and added that the present government was clear about helping farmers.
Mr. Chouhan claimed that under his tenure as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, irrigation facilities improved and cultivation went up. He said the Centre had set six priorities for the growth of the agriculture sector – increasing production, reducing input cost, providing remunerative prices, granting proper compensation in case of natural calamities, diversification and value addition in agriculture, and promotion of natural farming. He said natural farming was to ensure a healthy life for the next generation.
His reply will continue on Monday.
‘Budget allocation up’
He said the budget allocation for his Ministry was ₹1,32,470 crore for 2024-25 against ₹27,663 crore in 2013-14. The fertilizer subsidy also increased in the last 10 years, he said, adding that allied sectors also received similar treatment in the budget.
On questions about a statutory minimum support price for farmers, he said farmers sold at the MSP only when the market price of the crop was lower than the MSP. “If farmers are getting the right price, they will not sell at MSP. The market price of many crops, including basmati rice, is much higher than the MSP,” he said.
At this point, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said: “Less procurement at MSP means the situation of farmers is good and they are getting good prices in the market.” The problems of farmers must be understood from the right perspective, he said and asked the Centre to regularly raise the MSP. Mr. Chouhan replied that the Modi government was committed to providing remunerative prices to farmers by purchasing their produce at the MSP.
Read Comments
- Copy link
- Telegram
READ LATER
Remove
SEE ALL
PRINT
Related Topics
Agriculture
/
Rajya Sabha
/
Parliament proceedings