Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday pitched for farmers to be provided with accurate and timely market information.
“This will enable them to make informed decisions about what to grow,” Khandu said.
He was speaking at the daylong North East Regional Conference on Transformation of Indian Agriculture in Guwahati.
“Arunachal Pradesh produces world-class horticulture and agriculture crops,” the CM further said.
“But due to lack of proper market information on demand and price, there is always a mismatch between farm produce and the actual demand,” he added.
Expressing alarm that a huge gap exists between actual market demand and production, Khandu urged the union commerce ministry to step in to empower farmers to make informed decisions.
He said hand-holding is required in a professional way to guide the farmers in their production and marketing decisions.
Khandu is also the member of the High-Powered Committee on Transformation of Indian Agriculture formed by NITI Aayog.
“The focus of the conference is to gather valuable inputs and suggestions for preparing a roadmap for Transformation of Indian Agriculture in the next few years,” Khandu said.
“The objective of the conference is to derive inputs from all the NE states and industry experts which will be incorporated in a report,” Khandu added.
The report would be submitted to the High Powered Committee formed by the NITI Aayog in the next meeting to be held on August 16 in Mumbai.
Khandu said a time has come when all the policymakers and technocrats need to focus on sustainable and resurgent Agriculture, which is robust, productive, climate-resilient and pro-farmer oriented.
The High-Powered Committee for Transformation of Indian Agriculture headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has been holding a series of conferences across the country for preparing a roadmap for the Agriculture sector, which will be submitted to the Government of India in the next few weeks.
