Address by Governor at the State function to felicitate farmers and present the Krishi Ratna, Krishi Bhushan, Jijamata Krushi Bhushan Awards 2014 in Mumbai
Address by Shri CH. Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra at the State function to felicitate farmers and present the Krishi Ratna, Krishi Bhushan, Jijamata Krushi Bhushan, Udyan Pandit, Shendriya Sheti Krushi Bhushan, Vasantrao Naik Sheti Mitra and Vasantrao Naik Sheti Nishtha Shetkari Awards 2014 at Y.B. Chavan Auditorium, Mumbai at 10.40 AM on Tuesday, 11 July 2017
Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Pandurang Fundkar, Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture and Horticulture, Shri Vinod Tawde, Hon’ble Minister for Higher and Technical Education, Shri Subhash Desai, Hon’ble Minister for Industries and Mining, Shri Sadabhau Khot, Hon’ble Minister of State for Agriculture and Horticulture, Shri Bijay Kumar, Principal Secretary, Agriculture, all the recipients of various State Agricultural Awards and their families, senior government officials, officers and staff of various departments, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen…
नमस्कार. आज येथे उपस्थित असलेल्या राज्यातील सर्व प्रगतीशील शेतकरी बंधू – भगिनींना भेटून खूप आनंद वाटला. सर्व प्रथम मी सर्व पुरस्कार विजेत्या शेतकरी बंधु – भगिनींचे तसेच संस्थांचे मनःपूर्वक अभिनंदन करतो.
The contribution of our farmers to the development of our nation and of our State is of the highest order. Even today agriculture supports the livelihood of the largest majority of our people.
Agriculture is the only sector which has addressed poverty, hunger and climate change simultaneously.
Our farmers have fed the nation for decades and centuries under the most challenging situations. They have made sure that even the poorest of the poor person gets food to eat.
I have come here to express our collective gratefulness to you and to tell you that we are truly proud of each one of you.
During the last few decades, our farmers have transformed India from being a food-deficient country into a food surplus nation on the strength of their hard work, determination and adaptability to innovation. In many cases, our farmers have done more innovation than our universities and research institutions.
The contribution of women in the area of agriculture and allied sectors like dairy, poultry, etc is significantly high. Women shoulder the dual responsibility of looking after the household and working on fields with equal ease. I have no hesitation in saying that women are the backbone of agriculture and therefore, I congratulate all the women farmers and family members of farmers on this day.
I also congratulate the Department of Agriculture and Horticulture of Government of Maharashtra for organizing the farmers’ felicitation function.
Today the awards for the year 2014 are being presented. May I call upon the Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture to hold this function every year, if possible on any particular selected date.
Sisters and brothers,
The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi has attached very high priority to agriculture. Last year, while launching the electronic trading platform, the national agricultural market eNAM, the Hon’ble Prime Minister gave the slogan of ‘Per Drop More Crop’. The Hon’ble Prime Minister has also spoken of invigorating the agriculture sector with new technology, so that the income of farmers could be doubled by the year 2022. Needless to say, our State has a major responsibility in achieving this goal.
During his recent visit to Israel, the Hon’ble Prime Minister visited a state-of-the-art Flower Farm and also signed agreements on water conservation and recycling. The Prime Minister saw first-hand the advanced agriculture research technologies and latest innovations in floriculture. I believe that Maharashtra has the potential to create a similar flower farm and to that extent, we must explore the possibility of setting up such a flower farm in the State.
Ladies and gentlemen,
During the last few years, farmers in our State, as indeed elsewhere in the country, have had to bear the brunt of grave farm crisis due to elusive monsoon.
Climate Change is already putting great stress on our agriculture, food systems and rural livelihoods. It is threatening agricultural production and livelihood. Climate change is manifesting itself in the form of droughts, floods, increased sea level and so on. We in Maharashtra need enhanced and concerted action to reduce the impact of climate change on agriculture.
Given the dire situation of depleting water resources and diminishing rainfall, management of water resources, recycling of water and rainwater harvesting will have to be given topmost priority.
The Jalayukta Shivar Abhiyan has become one of the success stories of the Government. I congratulate and compliment the government for undertaking this wonderful initiative. I do feel that the Abhiyan should be implemented in a scientific manner. Further, the quality of work done under the Abhiyan must be properly and periodically monitored.
Today, I wish to call upon the Hon’ble Chief Minister to take up a similar campaign to revive and restore all our water bodies in the State, such as lakes, streams, tributaries and rivers.
Brothers and Sisters,
Maharashtra has become a leading state in horticulture in the country. The State ranks first in terms of area, production and export of Alphonso Mangoes, Grapes, banana, pomegranate and Nagpur Oranges. Promoting food processing can help us add value to our farm produce, generate employment opportunities and reduce wastage of perishable food commodities, which is almost 25 per cent.
Today I want to congratulate and compliment the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis for taking the historic decision of loan waiver of farmers amounting to Rs.34000 crore. This is going to benefit 89 lakh farmers and make 40 lakh farmers totally debt free.
I want this decision to bring a major turn-around in the fortunes of farmers in Maharashtra.
As Chancellor of agricultural universities in the State, I am proud to state that some of our universities are doing excellent research and innovation. We need strong industry – academic linkages to translate innovative ideas and research taking place in the universities into marketable products and services.
I congratulate all Krushi Ratna, Krushi Bhushan, Jijamata Krushi Bhushan, Udyan Pandit, Shendriya Sheti Krushi Bhushan, Sheti Mitra, Sheti Nistha Shetkari & State level winners of crop competitions for the year 2014.
I appeal to the award winners to share their success stories with universities, government and fellow farmers and make the State proud with your achievements. Let us make Maharashtra a model state known for sustainable agriculture, organic farming, horticulture, floriculture, agro-processing and other extension services.
In conclusion, I also congratulate the State Agriculture department, which has the most important responsibility of implementing various schemes for the benefit of farmers. I wish the Department success in its good work.
मी सर्व पुरस्कार प्राप्त शेतकऱ्यांचे अभिनंदन करतो आणि आपणा सर्वांना शुभेच्छा देतो.
Jai Hind ! Jai Maharashtra !!