AMN/ Jhansi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that self-sufficiency in agriculture is not limited to food only, rather it is a matter of self-sufficiency of the entire economy of the village.
Speaking after inaugurating the College and Administration Buildings of the Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University through video conference today, Mr Modi said, it is the mission to bring value addition to the agricultural products produced in the country and to take it to the markets in the country and the world. He said, the goal of self-sufficiency in agriculture is to make the farmer a producer as well as an entrepreneur.
Mr Modi said, when farmers and agriculture move forward in the form of an industry, employment and self-employment opportunities will be ready in the village and nearby the village on a large scale. He said, it is also necessary to take education related to agriculture and its practical application to the school level.
Mr Modi said, efforts are on to introduce the subject of agriculture at the middle school level. The Prime Minister said young researchers, young scientists will have to work continuously on modern technologies like drone technology, artificial intelligence, and modern agricultural equipment to make it more useful in the agriculture sector in the country.
He said, six years ago, there was only one Central Agricultural University in the country and today, three Central Agricultural Universities are functioning in India. The Prime Minister said, apart from it, three more national institutes are being established. These are IARI-Jharkhand, IARI-Assam and Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Integrated Farming at Motihari.
Speaking about Bundelkhand region, Mr Modi said, more than 700 crore rupees have been spent in Uttar Pradesh so far under the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan and under it employment is being provided to lakhs of workers.
He said, under this campaign, hundreds of ponds have been repaired and new ponds were constructed in Bundelkhand. The Prime Minister said, after completion, it will directly benefit lakhs of families of Bundelkhand. He informed that work is underway in the region to raise the level of ground water under Atal Bhujal Yojana. He added that projects like Bundelkhand Expressway, Defence Corridor will create thousands of employment opportunities in the region.
After inauguration, the Prime Minister interacted with students of the university.
The Central Agriculture University is located in Jhansi and is a prominent institute of the Bundelkhand region. After the inauguration, Mr Modi interacted with students of the university.
The University has started its first academic session in 2014-15 and is offering Under Graduate and Post Graduate courses in Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry. It is currently operating from the Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi as the main buildings were getting ready.