Raipur. 20 December 2021. “Increasing agricultural production should be the strength of the country, not the problem””It is necessary to sit together and discuss to solve the problem”“We made Industrial Policy 2019-24 after discussion with industrialists”
Our country and state is agricultural. In such a situation, a large part of the country’s economy is dependent on agriculture. The economy of trade and industry is also to some extent linked with the farmers. The wheel of industry will spin when traders buy goods from them and merchant’s goods will be sold when the public has money in their pockets. To save the economy, money has to be put in the pockets of the public. Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel said these things from the platform of ‘Kisan ki Baat, with entrepreneurs’ organized by ‘Haribhoomi’ media group. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was honored in the program on behalf of farmers and industrialists. Agriculture Minister Shri Ravindra Choubey, former Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agarwal, along with Chief Minister Shri Baghel in the program Farmer leaders Shri Shivkumar Sharma ‘Kakka Ji’ and Shri Rakesh Tikait and Editor-in-Chief of ‘Haribhoomi’ media group Shri Himanshu Dwivedi shared the stage. Food and Civil Supplies Minister Shri Amarjit Bhagat was also present in the program.
During the speech in the program, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel first observed silence for the peace of the souls of 703 farmers who were martyred during the farmers movement and paid tribute to them. Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel said in his address that the then Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi took the shortage of food grains in the country as a challenge and called upon the farmers of the country that we have to become self-reliant in the matter of food grains production. Only after this came the Green Revolution in the country. This was the same period when MSP was declared in 1967. Chief Minister Mr. Baghel said that after the formation of the government, in Chhattisgarh, we started giving fair price along with purchase of paddy, kodo, kutki, sugarcane, maize at minimum support price for all. Chhattisgarh is the first state in the country to buy Kodo, Kutki in support price. It is being purchased here at the rate of Rs 3000 per quintal. At the same time, we have paddy, kodo, in Chhattisgarh. Along with kutki, sugarcane, maize, he also started the purchase of forest produce, which increased from 7 to 52 types of minor forest produce. Apart from this, we also did value addition of forest produce. Today Mahua Laddu, Energy Bar, Bastar Cashew are becoming popular all over the country.
Chief Minister Shri Baghel said that a decree was issued from the Central Government, in which it was said that if any State Government would give bonus to the farmers on the purchase of crops, then it would not be taken in the Central Bridge, but then there was a relaxation of two years. In the same exemption, we gave Rs 2500 per quintal to the farmers in the purchase of paddy by adding bonus. The central government objected to the bonus and refused to take the state’s rice. After the objection of the central government, now we are giving input subsidy to the farmers at the rate of Rs 10,000 per acre. The Chief Minister appealed to the farmers of the state to produce Arwa quality paddy after the Center refused to take paddy of that quality.
Chief Minister Shri Baghel said that the increase in agricultural production should be a strength for any country and state, not a problem. We want to make ethanol fuel from the additional paddy of the state, but it is not getting permission from the Centre. MoUs have also been signed with 12 industrial houses and land has been given to them for making ethanol from sugarcane and maize. On promoting industry along with agriculture in the state, Chief Minister Shri Baghel said that after discussions with the industrialists, we made the industrial policy for 2019-24. Till now 150 MoUs have been signed. The Chief Minister said that after the lockdown, the first wheel of industries has turned, then it has moved in Chhattisgarh. He said that traders were also discussed from time to time to conduct business activities during the lockdown and necessary relief was provided to them.
Chief Minister Shri Baghel said that we want to do the interest of the farmers but no one will be allowed to take undue advantage in the name of farmers. Also, on the lack of DAP, the Chief Minister appealed to the farmers, livestock owners and villagers to make more and more vermi compost from cow dung. The Chief Minister said that we should engage in all kinds of discussions to solve the problems of the farmers. People should listen. They should be respected even if they disagree. Only when everyone sits together will the solution of any problem be found. He expressed hope that the discussion on Minimum Support Price started here today will move in the right direction and will reach its conclusion.
Agriculture Minister Shri Ravindra Choubey said that we are buying paddy at the highest price in the country. Financial benefits are being provided to farmers through Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana and cattle farmers through Godhan Nyay Yojana. To give relief to the landless agricultural laborers also, the Chhattisgarh government is coming up with a new scheme. Agriculture Minister Shri Choubey said that during the Corona period where there was a recession in the country and around the world, our government gave the benefit of Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana to the farmers in the state. If we made the farmers prosperous, then the business class was also not affected by the recession. Shri Choubey said that being the Agriculture Minister, I consider it my privilege that today Chhattisgarh model is being discussed in the whole country.
The program was also addressed by former Agriculture Minister Mr. Brijmohan Agrawal, farmer leader Mr. Shivkumar Sharma ‘Kakka ji’, Mr. Rakesh Tikait and industrialist Mr. Kamal Sarda. Shri Shivkumar Sharma ‘Kakka ji’ and Shri Rakesh Tikait while appreciating the Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel said that the Chief Minister’s arrival in such an event related to farmers shows how much pain and affection he has for the farmers. Shri Sharma said that in Chhattisgarh, the produce of the farmers is being purchased at the highest price in the whole country. Chhattisgarh is the first state to discuss MSP. Mr. Tikait said that Mr. Bhupesh Baghel is the first Chief Minister who is sitting and talking with him on the problems of farmers. Thanking the Chief Minister for this, he said that work is being done to enrich the farmers in Chhattisgarh by giving input subsidy on Kharif crops.
Chairman of Chhattisgarh State Farmers Welfare Council Mr. Surendra Sharma, Chairman of Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation Mr. Girish Devangan, Chairman of Raipur Development Authority Mr. Subhash Dhupad, Chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Board Mr. Rajendra Tiwari, Chairman of Text Book Corporation Mr. Shailesh Nitin Trivedi, Advisor to Chief Minister Shri Pradeep Sharma, Mayor of Raipur Municipal Corporation Shri Ejaz Dhebar, Chairman Shri Pramod Dubey, Agriculture Production Commissioner Dr. Kamalpreet Singh, Special Secretary, Agriculture Department, Dr. S. Bharathidasan, Commissioner Public Relations Mr. Dipanshu Kabra and representatives of many farmers, industrialists, business organizations were present.
