NewDelhi: On December 25 the Natural and Organic Farmers Summit was graced by the Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, as a guest of honor. The summit was organised by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and was held in Medak, Telangana. During his address, Vice President Dhankhar pointed out that even though there have been some changes in the Indian Agricultural Research Council, the country still has not allocated adequate attention to agriculture and agricultural development.
Dhankhar discussed the prevalence of around five thousand scientists and almost 25,000 personnel working in these institutes, having a budget allocation of more than ₹8,000 crores. He was doubtful about the effectiveness of their research activities, saying, “Who are we to change the lives? Is their life really changing?”
The Vice President laid down the priority areas, which he articulated are self-analysis of these institutions. He answered that the best way to approach this is for them to assist farmers and instruct them. He explained that if 100 farmers start coming to these institutions every day, what a big difference it would make. Dhankhar appealed to the government, people representatives, and associations to work out a mindset that Indian farmers would be among the first in the world.
In the course of the summit, Dhankhar reiterated that a developed India by 2047 is not a dream but a target that needs significant contributions from rural systems and farmers. He underlined that the only way to reach this objective is to increase the per capita income eightfold, which will not happen without a concentrated farmers’ agenda.
He stated that two years later they would be jubilating like 25 years of Farmer’s Day, and he emphasised the fact that the institutions must stay alive and be responsive to farmers’ needs.
Dhankhar further expressed his views on the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi and fertiliser subsidies, saying that even though they are helping farmers who are getting the support through this scheme three times a year, it must be changed in view of the inflation that is affecting the economy. He urged agricultural institutions and research centres to find out a way that the subsidies would be sent to the farmers in a direct manner. He marked the event by the observation that by providing over 100 million farmers with benefits through direct transfers, it could lead them towards organic and natural farming.
While he was speaking, Dhankhar insulted the opposition’s political way; he expressed that if people like them, who cannot bear our achievements, were behind the antagonism to our country, this is not a good alliance. He told every citizen to put their faith in narodnost’ and that they must put the country first.
He quoted former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” slogan to assert the necessity of tackling the problems faced by both farmers and soldiers, as these are India’s two vital forces. He remarked how Atal Bihari Vajpayee appended “Jai Vigyan” to this slogan and how the current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has moved further to include “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan.”
The statements of the Vice President Dhankhar reflect not only the commitment to improving the agricultural practices of the farmers in the country but also the addressal of the immediate needs of the farmers, as the topic of agricultural policies continues to be the CODA amidst the ongoing farmer movements in India.
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