The Union agriculture ministry has stated that the cultivation of maize, mustard and moong should be promoted to boost farmers’ income and attain self-sufficiency in edible oils, a senior official from the union agriculture ministry.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Deputy Director General (Agriculture Extension) and Agriculture Commissioner, A. K. Singh, were also asked to take up the adoption of technologies like drones in the agriculture sector.
Crop diversification must be promoted in a big way. “Instead of focusing on wheat and rice, cultivation of 3Ms—maize, moong, and mustard—should be promoted as it can help the country in attaining self-sufficiency and at the same time help in enhancing the income of farmers,” Singh stated.
India imports approximately 60% of its domestic edible requirements. Pulses are also imported, although in a small quantity. Hence, there is a need for the adoption of modern technology and called upon agricultural research institutes to develop a protocol for the usage of drones at the earliest.
Singh added that there was a need to have a contingency plan for different crops way in advance so that farmers could adopt it.
There is a need for precision agriculture today, to enhance crop yield and income of our farmers, and technology has to play an important role in it. Therefore, the farm sector is embracing drones and other technologies in a big way.
Unfortunately, India’s agri-input market, including the agrochemical segment, is saddled with lower quality and sub-standard products.
In the interest of the farmers, it is imperative to tackle the menace of inferior agri-inputs on priority so as to ensure the government’s noble objective of doubling the farmers’ income.
Farmers would benefit immensely by adopting integrated pest management techniques, and they need to be adopted in a holistic manner. Also, diversification of crops is the need of the hour and cultivation of short-term crops would also help the farming community a great deal.