Nashik: State Agriculture and Ex-Servicemen Welfare Minister Dadaji Bhuse said that women farmers play an important role in the overall management of agriculture — from crop planning to sales and hence the government is committed to the empowerment of women farmers.
“We have a very important place for women in agriculture and farm management. Without the active participation of women, agricultural production and development of agriculture cannot be possible.
Women farmers play an important role in the overall management of agriculture from crop planning to sales,” expressed State Agriculture and Ex-Servicemen Welfare Minister Dadaji Bhuse and assured that he is committed to the empowerment of such women farmers along with their dignity.
On the occasion of the birth anniversaries of Balasaheb Thackeray and Subhash Chandra Bose, a district level meet was organised at Government Agribusiness Management College, Malegaon Camp under the concept of National Food Security Mission Nutritious Cereals Development Programme.
Minister Bhuse was speaking at the inauguration of the workshop organised jointly by the Department of Agriculture and Mahatma Phule Agricultural University. Joint Director of Agriculture Sanjeev Padwal, Project Director (Atma) Rajendra Nikam along with agriculture department officials, staff and women farmers were present in large numbers.
Minister Bhuse said that in many places in the taluka, women farmers are seen preforming their role in dairy business, poultry farming and horticulture. It is a pity that women, despite being more diligent, practical and efficient than men, get a secondary role.
This situation needs to be changed, said the minister and proposed the idea of implementing a pilot project in Malegaon taluka for women who are landowners themselves.
The Rajmata Jijau Women Empowerment Campaign covers all aspects of agriculture and the project has been submitted to the government for approval, said Minister Bhuse. Farmer guidance cells have been established in every district and taluka office from January 2020.
Punyashlok Ahilya Devi Holkar Yojana has been started to set up 2 nurseries in each taluka of the state to provide quality seedlings to vegetable growers on local level.
Five government agricultural colleges have been sanctioned by setting up Agricultural science Complex under Mahatma Phule Agriculture University, Rahuri at Kashti in the taluka, which includes agriculture, horticulture, food technology, agribusiness management and agricultural engineering technology.
He said that by updating the agricultural technology for the students of this college, it will benefit largely to the farmers of the taluka as well as the adjoining districts.
Relief through resource bank
Farm product management is very important along with agricultural production. In fact, the agriculture department and marketing have set up sales-outlets at the taluka and district level with the concept of direct sale of vegetables from farmers to consumers in the state to guide farmers in sales rather than just agricultural production technology.
Many farmers in the state are doing experimental farming themselves. The concept of farmers’ resource bank was introduced to benefit other farmers with their knowledge and experience. To date, 5,000 resource banks for farmers have been set up in the state.
For the first time in the state, it has been decided to set up a Gram Krishi Samiti at the Gram Panchayat level for planning agriculture and agri-business at the village level. He also mentioned that in order to create an identity and market for the wild veggies in the tribal areas, they have been provided a separate platform in every district of the state.
The MahaDBT portal has been launched so that farmers do not have to apply every year to avail the benefits of the schemes and thus now there is no need to apply from time to time for all the schemes.
The agriculture department has changed the guidelines that at least 25 per cent of the agricultural schools in the state should be for women and the technology has been disseminated through 62,000 agricultural schools in the state by visiting the farms of 8 lakh farmers.
In times of heavy rains and natural calamities, the state government has stood firmly behind the farmers and sanctioned a fund of Rs 10,000 crore. Even in the crisis of Corona, under the Mahatma Phule Loan Waiver Scheme, 19,644 crore crop loans were immediately distributed to 30.77 lakh eligible beneficiaries.
