India needs to increase farm output, says Modi

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SME Times News Bureau | 29 Jul, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said India needs to increase its per hectare productivity of crops to meet the growing demand for food.

"The land area in the country is not going to increase... So we need to increase per hectare productivity," Modi said at a function at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

"Similarly, we must find out how the crop which matures in 45 days can mature in 35 days without compromising with its quality," he said.

The prime minister also emphasised on water intensive agriculture, and said there should be "more crop per drop".

"We need to ensure scientific management of water cycle keeping in mind the (changing) weather cycle."

Modi called upon agricultural scientists to develop technology to achieve this goal.

"The challenge is how to get what is done in the lab to the land, to the farmer.

"Results of scientific research must reach farmers," he said, adding that agriculture colleges could operate radio stations to propagate knowledge in the region they are located.