Govt taking steps to achieve nutritional security: Agri Min Tomar

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday said the government is taking necessary steps to achieve nutrition security along with food security. Inaugurating a two-day conference at Hyderabad, the minister said it was upon India's initiative that the United Nations declared year 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Tomar urged the present generation to understand the importance of nutritious foodgrains like millets and make it a part of their daily diet, according to an official statement.

The minister highlighted that the Centre has announced the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore to fill the gaps in the farm sector. He said the Centre has launched special mission for oilseeds and oil palm cultivation from which the farmers in Telangana would greatly benefit as land here is suitable for cultivation of these crops. To encourage the next generation to invest in agriculture and to ensure profitable yields for the crops, Tomar said the Centre has enacted three new farm laws.

The government will spend Rs 6,850 crore to set up 10,000 new farmer-producer organisations (FPOs) and as a result lives of about 86 percent of farmers would be transformed, he added.

The two-day convention is being organised by the ICAR- Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN and the Union Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

Earlier, Tomar and other dignitaries visited the millets' food stalls put up by various startups and millet processing units at the venue. The minister released various publications brought out by the ICAR-IIMR.

Tomar also participated in tree plantation and seed distribution programmes followed by interaction with farmers and biodiversity groups.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)