By IANS,
Ahmedabad : Launching a month-long campaign to give a boost to Gujarat’s agriculture, Chief Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday said his government would work to make farmers prosperous.
Modi addressed a farmers’ rally on the occasion of the launch of Krushi Mahotsav at Bardoli, 34 km from Surat, from where the ‘Bardoli Satyagrah’ was launched under the leadership of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, India’s first home minister.
“It was Bardoli from where Sardar pledged to bring prosperity to the farmer. Agriculture is locomotive of our economy and a prosperous rural economy based on agriculture will ultimately make the nation prosperous,” he said.
Krushi Mahotsav, fourth in the series, has instilled confidence among farmers, he said.
The campaign will cover 18,000 villages with 230 ‘krushi raths’ or vans reaching out to farmers. Research scientists, experts, agriculture officers and ministers will interact with farmers explaining latest techniques.
Modi proposed to implement an innovative concept of “animal hostel” on experimental basis through public participation.
Praising the record sugarcane cultivation through drip irrigation, he cautioned that the abundance of water could harm soil fertility and the crop. He assured help to augment drip irrigation for sugarcane cultivators.