Indian farmers should learn to compete at global level, says Minister

Indian farmers have to learn to be globally competitive by adopting new technologies in cultivation, processing and marketing their produce, Minister Satish Jarkiholi said in Bagalkot on Tuesday.

He was speaking at the valedictory function of the Horticulture Mela organised by the University of Horticultural Sciences.

“Days are gone when farmers worried only about growing their food. Now-a-days, they need to be shrewd businessmen. They need to adopt modern cultivation and harvesting technological tools, embrace new technology for post-harvest processing and even for marketing their produce. This comprehensive view of agriculture will save farmers and lead to their all round development,” he said.

He presented awards to the best farmers.

“In today’s competitive era, we have to compete in every field — be it exploring the market, growing new varieties, growing more in less land and food processing. We have to accept the challenges before us. We also have to prepare for that. This will enable us to compete at the global level,” he said.

He said that the Horticulture Sciences University has helped farmers in North Karnataka by introducing many new varieties and technologies.

“Many of us have already adopted them. The major crop in this region is sugarcane. But then, a large number of farmers grow horticulture crops like vegetables, flowers, fruits, spices and high value products like areca and coconut,” he said.

“There is also a great need for alternative crops. The horticulture fair is also inspiring farmers to learn from each other,” he said.

Awards were given to Ramesh H. of Bengaluru Rural District, Muniraju B.N. of Bengaluru Urban District, Devaraju G. of Ramanagara district, Channakeshava Swamy of Tumakuru, Sudeshkumar Pattanashetty of Koppal district, Padmavati Bagodi of Raichur district, K. Basappa Channabasappa of Ballari district and Sri Maheshwara Swamy of Vijayanagara district.

MP P.C. Gaddigoudar urged farmers to stay in contact with their counterparts and remain updated with new technologies.

He requested young farmers to explore crops other than sugarcane. “Growing only sugarcane reduces soil fertility. Along with harvesting good crops, attention should be paid to maintaining soil fertility,” he said.

Vice-Chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad P.L. Patil, Horticultural Sciences University Vice-Chancellor Vishnuvardhan and others were present.