Aim should be to generate sustainable income for farmers: Dhankhar

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Friday that the farmers are the backbone of a rising India and they cannot be made to suffer financially to sustain others.Dhankar appealed to the farmers to think out of the box and asserted that all the stakeholders should come up with sustainable solutions to the problems, including climate change.India is on the rise as never before.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Friday that the farmers are the backbone of a rising India and they cannot be made to suffer financially to sustain others.

Dhankar appealed to the farmers to think out of the box and asserted that all the stakeholders should come up with sustainable solutions to the problems, including climate change.

''India is on the rise as never before. It's a global recognition. Our rise is unstoppable,'' he said at the inaugural address at the 15th edition of an agriculture and food technology fair in Chandigarh.

''And in this rise, farmers are the backbone. Farmers have played a critical role,'' Dhankhar said.

The vice president stressed on innovation as it should become the key driver of agricultural growth and address the challenges. He noted that efforts should also be made to integrate the latest scientific knowledge with the indigenous knowledge system.

''Our ultimate aim should be to generate sustainable incomes for our farmers. The farmer has to gain and the farmer cannot be made suffer financially to sustain others,'' he said.

''We need to focus not just on food production, but also on food processing and value addition. This will go a long way in transforming Indian agriculture in the 21st century,'' Dhankar said. He underscored that climate change and price fluctuations were posing challenges to the farmers.

''I will appeal to farmers from this part of the country to think out of the box.... I have no doubt that with a proper approach by all stakeholders, this problem is subject to easy resolution,'' he said.

Dhankar said the compulsions of farmers needed to be understood.

''If the farmer is taking a particular step, that is not for the sake of it, but for having the land available for the next crop. I'm sure attention by way of appropriate research would be focused on that,'' he said.

Pointing out to the Swachh Bharat campaign, Dhankar said disposal of residual matters has turned out to be a great industry.

That should happen also with respect to part of the farm produce, which cannot be easily monetised otherwise, according to the vice president.

''It is the farmer who needs to be well informed so that he adopts economically sustainable measures,'' he said. ''For us, agriculture is not a profession, it is a tradition and a way of life.'' He expressed hope that the agrotech would come up with feasible outcomes and address the issues faced by the farmers ''for the simple reason that we can grow as a nation only if the farm sector grows''.