Need more private players in agro: Sharad Pawar

Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Friday called for higher investment by the private players in agriculture sector.

He was speaking at the National Conference on Rural Prosperity through Better Agriculture here.

Pawar said new technology, which helps in developing affordable farming equipment suited to Indian conditions and farm sizes, is the need of the hour and the private sector will have to take a leading role in this.

?As Indian agriculture gains momentum, there is growing demand for quality inputs, support services through effective extension and knowledge dissemination and adequate agricultural infrastructure,” Pawar said.

In recent years, we have witnessed a renewed focus on agriculture, the minister said.

He said that major programmes such as the National Horticulture Mission, the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and the National Food Security Mission have been launched.

As a result, the plan outlay for the agriculture and allied sector have increased substantially from Rs 7,431 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 19,070 crore in 2010-11, an increase of about 156 per cent, he said.

“There has been a significant increase in the gross capital formation in agriculture as a proportion of agricultural GDP which has gone up from 14.1 per cent in 2004-05 to 21.3 in 2008-09,” said Pawar.