The Prime Minister spoke after publishing the autobiography of former Union Minister Balasaheb Vikhe Patil
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that his government’s “historic” agricultural reforms will create opportunities to bring farmers into entrepreneurship, adding that his regime is focused on increasing their incomes.
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Mr Modi spoke after publishing the memoir of former Union Minister Balasaheb Vikhe Patil and renaming the Pravara Rural Education Society in Ahmednagar district in honor of the recipient Padma Bhushan, via video conference.
Calling the agricultural reforms historic, the prime minister said: “Today opportunities are being created to move agriculture and farmers from the role of annadata (food provider) to entrepreneurship.”
Referring to the high production of milk, sugar and wheat in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana and Punjab, Modi said such local business models will move the country forward.
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He said there was a time after Independence when the country did not have enough food supplies.
“The government’s priority then was to increase food production. So the whole focus was on increasing production.
“The farmers worked hard to achieve the goal,” Modi said.
“But governments and policies did not pay attention to the profitability of farmers while worrying about increasing productivity.
“People forgot about farmers’ income. But for the first time, this mindset has changed, ”said the Prime Minister, listing the steps the Center for Farmers’ Well-being has taken.
Noting that the threat of COVID-19 still persists, Modi asked to observe the rules of social distancing and maintain effective personal hygiene.
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