'Farmers will get modern facilities under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund,' says PM Modi

On Sunday, August 9, while inaugurating the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that this move will create more job opportunities and give farmers the much-needed access to modern facilities that will make a huge difference in their lives. 

Self-reliant farmers

On the occasion of Balaram Jayanti on August 9, PM Modi launched the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund. He launched this financial facility at 11 am through video conferencing. He kickstarted the launch by wishing farmers on the occasion of Balaram Jayanti, Hal Chhath, and Dau Janmotsav which is an important event in the life of a farmer.

During the launch, he apprised people that this move is aimed at making the farmers 'Atmanirbhar' or self-reliant. PM Modi said that the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund will enable the farmers to access assets like cold storage, collection centres and processing units which will further enable them to protect, preserve and sell their products and make maximum profit. According to PM Narendra Modi, the farmers face a lot of injustice because they do not have the freedom to sell their produce in the market the way people from other industries can. They are forced to sell their produce in a designated market at a fixed price and have to deal with middlemen and pay commissions as well. 

"Special fund of Rs 1 lakh crore has been released today. This will help in creating better storage, modern cold storage chains in the villages and many employment opportunities will be created in the village. It will also help farmers groups in the village, farmers committees, FPOs to build warehouses, cold storage, setting up industries related to food processing, Rs 1 lakh crore. This modern infrastructure will go a long way in setting up agro-based industries. Under the self-reliant India campaign, a big plan has been made to bring the famous products in every district to the market of the country and the world," said PM Modi during the virtual launch. 

"Who will run agriculture-based industries? The majority of the share will go to Farmers Production Organisations (FPOs). In the coming years, the emphasis is being given to create 10,000 new FPOs," he added. 

Under this scheme, 350 agricultural startups related to food processing, Artificial Intelligence, manufacturing of smart farming equipment and renewable energy will be provided with support to grow and develop. He also informed the people the main objective of the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi is being fulfilled. The sixth installment amount of Rs. 17,000 crores have been deposited into the accounts of nearly 8.5 crore farmers, without any middlemen, which provides them with the assistance that they need at a time like this. 

This move will allow farmers to directly supply raw materials to companies who need it and get a fair price without any hassle. Aside from directly providing support to the farmers, laws are also being changed to accommodate their needs and encourage them. He also informed the citizens that India's first Kisan Rail has been started running between Maharastra and Bihar and will be beneficial for the farmers of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh as well. This train is fully airconditioned which means that it is basically a cold-storage train that will ensure that the produce is not damaged. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also says that this move will reap long-term benefits for the farmers as well as for the country.

Watch PM Modi's 'Agriculture Infrastructure' Fund launch video here. 

(With inputs from ANI)