Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while addressing the concluding session of the Regional Agriculture Conference for Southern States in Hyderabad, directed states to complete their agricultural targets and commitments within the stipulated timelines. He said states must act seriously on the actionable points identified during the day-long deliberations. The conference, he emphasised, must translate into concrete action and measurable outcomes. “The Centre and the states are one agriculture team. Our scientists, our farmers, officers of the Central and state governments, all together form one agriculture team. We must work together,” Shri Chouhan said. He stressed that commitments made by states at the conference must be fulfilled. Otherwise, the entire exercise would lose its purpose. If a state has committed to completing Farmer ID generation by December, it must meet that deadline, he said. There is no need to repeat discussions on every issue, but action on the decisions taken is essential.
The objective is results, not just meetings
Shri Chouhan said the conference would serve no purpose if the decisions taken were not implemented. “If we come for a day, eat, meet and sit, and do nothing beyond that, it would amount to cheating the people. That is not what we want. We have to deliver results,” he said. Expressing confidence in the agriculture teams working at the Centre and in the states, he said all levels must work together to bring about meaningful change in the sector. “Creating a commotion is not my objective. My desire is to change the situation. We will change the face of agriculture,” Shri Chouhan said. He also recalled the commitment made during the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan that whenever states finalise dates for their agricultural outreach programmes, scientists from the Government of India and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) would accompany them. Scientists will visit villages and fields, sit with farmers and hold discussions involving farmers, scientists and agriculture department officials. The objective is to strengthen direct engagement between agricultural research and farming communities.
States asked to accelerate work on Farmer ID and AgriStack
Shri Chouhan said states would have understood the importance of AgriStack and noted the progress made in generating Farmer IDs. Telangana and Karnataka have crossed 75% completion in Farmer ID generation, he said. Good progress has also been made in georeferencing in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana. He said Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have achieved completion in the Digital Crop Survey. However, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands still need to accelerate work on Farmer ID generation, he said. Shri Chouhan stressed that Farmer ID work must be completed within the stipulated deadlines, as several agricultural systems in the coming years will depend on it. “I expect that no state should be left behind,” he said.
Land records and Farmer Registry must be integrated
The Union Agriculture Minister said states where land parcels have not yet been linked must expedite the process, particularly Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Kerala also needs to ensure coordination between land record data and the Farmer Registry, he said. He called for the preparation and notification of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for tenant farmers, including sharecroppers and agricultural tenants, in southern states. Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands need to take up work in this area, he said. He also directed Puducherry and Lakshadweep to undertake georeferencing of village maps.
Bharat Vistar to reach farmers in 13 regional languages
Shri Chouhan said farmers face several challenges every day and cannot be expected to travel to different offices for advice on every issue. To address this, Bharat Vistar has been developed to provide farmers with access to appropriate advice through a mobile phone. The system is currently available in Hindi and English and will be expanded to 13 regional languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Farmers will be able to ask questions in their own language and receive answers in the same language. Referring to the participation of the Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister, who spoke in Telugu, Shri Chouhan said expressing ideas in one’s own language makes communication more precise and effective. “Farmers understand their own language. Therefore, we must work with the states to complete this system at the earliest,” he said. He also directed that state government schemes be integrated with Bharat Vistar as quickly as possible.
Research must reach farmers from lab to land
Shri Chouhan said states could schedule 15-day or 20-day agricultural campaigns according to their convenience, and scientists from the Government of India would visit the states during these campaigns. “We have 16,000 scientists,” he said, highlighting the role of ICAR institutions, KVKs and agricultural universities. These institutions are not only meant to conduct research but also to ensure that research reaches farmers, he said. “Unless farmers and scientists sit together, and unless research reaches the farmer, it will not be enough. Research must move from lab to land,” Shri Chouhan said.
India must become the world’s leading agricultural nation
Shri Chouhan said he wanted to work with complete dedication and honesty to make India a global leader in agriculture. “We have to make India the world’s food basket. It can be done. It is not impossible. It will happen, but all of us have to work for it,” he said. He noted that Indian agriculture has undergone significant transformation and said further changes would be pursued to establish India as a global leader in the sector.
Rabi Conference to be held in Delhi on September 28–29
Shri Chouhan announced that the Rabi Conference would be held at the Pusa Institute in Delhi on September 28 and 29. Agriculture Ministers and officials from all states will attend the conference with their respective teams and bring detailed plans for the Rabi season. The conference will finalise decisions on the crops to be sown during Rabi and the area to be brought under each crop. Based on these plans, the availability of seeds, fertiliser requirements and other essential resources will be assessed, and further preparations will be undertaken.
The conference was also attended by Ministers of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shri Ram Nath Thakur and Shri Bhagirath Choudhary along with Ministers of Agriculture from states of Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry.
Senior officers from the Ministry, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shri Atish Chandra, and Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General, ICAR Dr. M. L. Jat also participated in the conference.