In order to achieve the target of doubling farmers' income by 2022, the Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand has said that there is a need to boost crop productivity using fewer resources. He also pointed out that export of water guzzling crops like paddy was not in the interest of the nation or its farmers.
Chand said ‘We should aim to get more productivity from less resource if we want to double farm income by 2022’. He also highlighted rising per capita consumption of edible oils that has led to huge imports of cooking oils.
Earlier, Ramesh Chand had said MSP hike for crops and adoption of model APMC Act by states would help in doubling farmers’ income by 2022. These actions, including fostering competitive markets, are in line with the government’s target of doubling farmers’ income in five years. He said the growth in agriculture sector is close to 5 per cent which is reasonable to achieve the target.
