Sudhir Kumar / New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the government is committed to empowering farmers of the nation. Mr Modi stated this in a social media post after releasing 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient, and biofortified crop varieties at India Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi.
He further added that the climate-friendly and high-yielding varieties of crops will boost the income of farmers. The 109 varieties of 61 crops include 34 field crops and 27 horticultural crops. Among the field crops, seeds of various cereals were released. The horticultural crops will cover different varieties of fruits, vegetables, plantation crops, tubers, spices, flowers, and medicinal plants.
On the occasion, the Prime Minister also interacted with the farmers and scientists. The farmers said that these new varieties will be highly beneficial as they will help reduce their expenditure and also have a positive impact on the environment. Mr Modi also lauded the scientists for the development of these new crop varieties.
Later addressing the media, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the seeds of these crops are climate-friendly and can yield good crop even in adverse weather.
Akashvani correspondent also spoke to some of the farmers who attended the programme. They expressed confidence that such crops will help increase their income.