Uttarakhand CM Dhami launches Viksit Agriculture Sankalp Abhiyan

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday launched the 'Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan' in Uttarakhand and said that under the campaign, agricultural scientists and officials will visit 95 development blocks, 670 Nyaya Panchayats and 11,440 villages of the state.

Launching the campaign from Guniyal village here, the chief minister said that under the campaign from May 29 to June 12, more than 2,000 scientific teams will communicate with 1.5 crore farmers in more than 700 districts across the country.

For this campaign in the state, three teams have been formed in each district, which will organise programmes at three places every day and in each such programme, more than 600 farmers will participate, he added.

The chief minister said that through the campaign, farmers will be given information about advanced agricultural techniques according to their land, climate and training for the selection of profitable crops on the basis of soil testing.

He said that along with this, information about schemes like agriculture, animal husbandry, and horticulture will also be made available to them.

Dhami said that during this period, the experiences, traditional knowledge, innovations and suggestions of the farmers will also be collected so that scientific research can be made more practical in future.

This campaign will prove to be a milestone in taking the agriculture sector of the state to new heights through modernity and innovation as well as in making the food producers strong and prosperous.

The chief minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country is moving rapidly towards realising the resolution of a 'developed nation'.

He said that in the state, farmers are being given loans up to Rs 3 lakh without interest, while they are being given up to 80 per cent subsidy on the purchase of agricultural equipment.

Dhami said that tea gardens -- Dhauladevi, Munsiyari and Betalghat -- are being converted into organic tea gardens while six 'Aroma Valleys' are being developed in the state.

A provision of Rs 200 crore has been made in this year's budget, especially for the construction of poly houses, while 'Uttarakhand Climate Responsive Rain-Fed Farming Project' has also been approved at a cost of about Rs 1,000 crore to increase rain-fed farming in hilly areas.

He said that recently the state government has implemented many important schemes like the new apple policy, kiwi policy, 'State Millet Mission' and 'Dragon Fruit Policy' at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore.