Rs 65,000 cr spent on import of edible oil should go to farmers: PM in NITI Aayog meet

On the inaugural session of the sixth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, PM Modi said that 'Ease of Living' is very essential to fulfill the aspirations of Indians and improve their standard of living. PM also backed the farm laws in the NITI Aayog meeting, he stated that despite being called an agriculture-oriented country, we bring edible oil worth Rs 65,000-70,000 crores from abroad. Our farmers have the capability that they can grow many such food items not only for the country but for the world. 

PM backs agriculture reforms 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the 6th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog, said, "Agriculture has huge possibilities but we have to accept some truths. About Rs  65000-75000 crore is spent on the import of edible oils. It can be stopped. This money can go into the accounts of farmers. The farmer has the right to this money. For this, we will have to formulate plans. We tried it with pulses and we got success. Now money spent on import of pulses has come down considerably. The farmers have no difficulty in growing such products, they need guidance. There are many agricultural products that the farmers can produce not only for the country but the world. For this, it is essential that all states formulate their strategy for agro-climatic regional planning and help farmers accordingly."

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PM Modi asserted, "But our potential is much more. There is a need to pay attention to storage and processing to minimize the wastage of products. And the all the potential that exists for investment, it has to be added." PM questioned, "Can’t we export processed fish products ourselves on a large scale. Can’t our coastal areas make an impact on global markets by taking initiative? This situation is with many other places, products. Our farmers get necessary financial resources, better infrastructure, modern technology, reforms are very essential for this."

PM on Oil Seed Mission

PM Narendra Modi informed that under the National Oil Seed Mission, the government has given tax exemption to edible oil companies and special arrangements are made to encourage farmers engaged in oilseed cultivation and palm oil cultivation, to increase the production. Under this, the government has set a target of 51 lakh hectares for the sowing of the Zayed season crops of the current crop year 2020-21 (July-June), which is 50% more than the previous season. It includes pulses along with oilseeds. The target of Zayed oilseed crops is 11.78 lakh hectares, which includes 6.57 lakh hectares of groundnut, 4.14 lakh hectares of sunflower, 97,000 hectares of sunflower and 10,000 hectares of other oilseed crops.

(With ANI inputs)

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