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Pawar warns against complacency in food grain production
Thursday, 24 April 2008, 19:30 IST
New Delhi: Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar Thursday warned against complacency in food grain production and stressed the need for continuous efforts to maximise farm production.
"Although we achieved a record food grain production in 2007-08, there is no scope for complacency... We must take necessary steps to maximise farm production, reform agricultural markets and take fiscal measures to support agriculture," Pawar said in his concluding remarks at a special conference of state agriculture ministers here.
The ministry might constitute an "empowered committee of state ministers of agriculture and marketing to guide the implementation of agriculture market reforms initiatives", he said.
Pawar said that agriculture was globally faced with serious challenges from factors like climate change, natural calamities and crop failure, diversion of agriculture land for bio fuels and increasing prices of food grain.
He also urged state agriculture ministers and representatives to look into taxes on the sale of agricultural produce and bring them down to a minimum level to allow farmers to reap more benefits.
"The valued added tax (VAT) may be made zero to facilitate increase in value realization by the farmers and providing food items at reasonable prices to the consumers."
He urged the participants to come forward and avail of assistance under the National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility, which envisages setting up of 500 static and 250 mobile testing laboratories during the 11th plan with an outlay of 
4.8 billion.
During 2007-08, India's food grain production reached a record 227.32 million tonnes. Agriculture Secretary P.K. Mishra, releasing the third advance crop estimate Tuesday, said that wheat production had touched 76.78 million tonnes compared to 75.81 million tonnes the year before.
"The increase in output, which is 10 million tonnes more than that produced last year, is due to factors such as even rainfall distribution and favorable temperature during rabi (winter crop) season," he had said.
Rice production is estimated at 95.68 million tonnes, up by 2 million tonnes over last year while coarse cereals like maize, bajra and jowar have increased to 39.67 million tonnes from 33.92 million tonnes.
Source: IANS
4.8 billion.
During 2007-08, India's food grain production reached a record 227.32 million tonnes. Agriculture Secretary P.K. Mishra, releasing the third advance crop estimate Tuesday, said that wheat production had touched 76.78 million tonnes compared to 75.81 million tonnes the year before.
"The increase in output, which is 10 million tonnes more than that produced last year, is due to factors such as even rainfall distribution and favorable temperature during rabi (winter crop) season," he had said.
Rice production is estimated at 95.68 million tonnes, up by 2 million tonnes over last year while coarse cereals like maize, bajra and jowar have increased to 39.67 million tonnes from 33.92 million tonnes.
Source: IANS