New Delhi. In view of the forecast of the Meteorological Department of good monsoon rain, a target of record production of 29.83 million tonnes of food grains has been set in the crop year 2020-21. It was announced during the National Kharif Conference-2020 held in the capital Delhi. During the conference, the emphasis was laid on nutritional security along with food security by increasing food grain production and productivity. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said after inaugurating the conference, “It should be taken in mission mode to achieve the goal of doubling farmers’ income.”
Tomar was addressing the Kharif conference with video conferencing due to the coronavirus epidemic. He said that the ministry will fulfill the needs of the states in the Kharif season farming. The purpose of this conference was to solve the problems by considering the strategy of increasing crop yield with the states. Tomar said that an extraordinary situation has arisen due to the outbreak of Coronavirus, which all people have to solve jointly. Quoting the Prime Minister, Tomar said that his government will do everything possible to rescue the village, the poor and the farmer in this crisis.
During the conference, the Ministry of Agriculture presented the picture of the forthcoming crop year. Accordingly, the target of crop production during the crop year 2020-21 has been set at 29.83 million tonnes. It has set a target of 14.94 million tonnes of foodgrains in the forthcoming Kharif season and 14.84 million tonnes of foodgrains in the rabi season, while in the year 2019-20 it is 29.10 million tonnes.
The government’s emphasis is on the cultivation of horticultural crops along with food grains, on which the economy of many states is based. Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Aggarwal also stressed on ensuring nutritional security along with food security. In the coming Kharif season, it was said to expand the cultivation of pulses and oilseeds and increase production.
The country is not self-sufficient in the case of edible oils. More than 60 percent of edible oils are imported for domestic requirements. The government is fully focused on increasing its production. All states were asked to implement this.
In the discussion regarding the preparation of Kharif crops, detailed information was sought from all the states about their requirements. His opinion was sought regarding the needs related to improved seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation. In view of the expected arrival of monsoon and normal rains, an appeal was made to execute the Kharif preparations.
