Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, says the Government of India has emphasized the need to reintroduce traditional foods into the diet of the people with millet, other nutritious cereals, fruit and vegetables, fish, dairy products, and organic products.
In recent years, their production in India has been phenomenal, and India is becoming a destination country for healthy foods. In the second session of the G-20 Agriculture Ministers’ meeting, Shri Tomar said this. The topic of this session was “Working together to achieve Zero Hunger: successful projects implemented by ministries of agriculture”.
As an expression of the importance of nutri-cereals, Shri Tomar said that the United Nations has approved the proposal of the Government of India and declared 2023 the International Year of Millets. To promote nutrition and sustainable agriculture, he called on the nations to celebrate Millet Year. The agriculture sector in India has achieved great success since independence, according to Shri Tomar. Even during the COVID pandemic, the Indian agriculture sector remained unaffected. He was pleased with the various initiatives of the Government of India that were devised during COVID to maintain the Agri-market dynamic, along with the supply chain for Agri-inputs. With an increase in food grain production, there has been a significant increase in exports in 2020-2021.
According to Shri Tomar, biofortified varieties provide a staple diet rich in micronutrients. Malnutrition is being addressed through their promotion. The cultivation of 17 of these varieties has been approved. With the support of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India has taken steps to make the best use of water resources, create infrastructure for irrigation, conserve soil fertility with balanced fertilizer use, and provide connectivity from farms to markets.
According to the Union Minister, the government is providing small farmers with income support of Rs.6,000 a year under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. Under this scheme, Rs 1.58 lakh crore has been deposited in the bank accounts of more than 11.37 crore farmers. Several steps have been taken by India to make agriculture sustainable in the face of climate change, he said. ‘Per Drop- More Crop’ scheme for irrigation and ‘Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana’ for organic farming have been implemented successfully. The weather has an impact on the farmers’ production and income, which is why the Indian government introduced the dhan mantri fasal bima yojana, or farmer’s insurance card. There are two large food-based safety net programs in India working to address the malnutrition problem. Public Distribution Systems and Mid-Day Meal Schemes are both part of this initiative.
India will share its best practices and increase the capacities of other developing countries, Shri Tomar said. India pledged to continue working together to achieve the “Poverty Reduction” and “Zero Hunger” goals. Furthermore, he reaffirmed India’s commitment to exchange best practices and cooperate in R&D to boost productivity.
An Indian delegation of four members was led by Minister Shri Tomar at the G20 Ministerial meeting. A hybrid meeting was organized in order to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the members of the Indian delegation were Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Ms. Alaknanda Dayal, Joint Secretary, and Dr. B. Rajender.
