Last Updated on February 13, 2026 2:06 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Staff Reporter
Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, continuous efforts are being made to address every problem faced by farmers across the country.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha today, Mr Chouhan stated that the government has created an Agriculture Infrastructure Fund to ensure safe storage of farmers’ produce.
He said, under the scheme, 44 thousand 243 Custom Hiring Centres, 25 thousand 854 Primary Processing Centres, more than 17 thousand warehouses and around three thousand cold storage units have been established.
The Minister added that due to such initiatives, post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables have been reduced by 5 to 15 per cent.
The Minister informed the House that 152 Farmer-Producer Organisations (FPOs) across the country are continuously working to enhance farmers’ income. Highlighting the government’s procurement policy, Mr Chouhan said that the government is providing MSP at least 50 per cent above the cost of production of farmers.
He alleged that during the ten year of UPA government, only six lakh metric tonnes of pulses were procured, While NDA government has procured one crore 92 lakh metric tonnes.
The Minister noted that India has overtaken China to become the world’s largest producer of rice. He said, the country has achieved self-reliance in rice and wheat, and the government has decided to make India self-sufficient in pulses as well.