Gujarat farmers benefit from Agriculture festival

Rajkot, May 22 (UNI) The farmers in Gujarat have become happy and prosperous after the state government started organising Agriculture festival since 2005.

With the joint efforts of administration, agriculture experts and cultivators, the yield of grains, cotton and oilseeds have increased by 25 to 30 per cent in the district, improving the social life of farmers.

Before the start of the festival, the farmers income from agriculture was Rs 272. 69 crore but, over the period of three years, it has gone up to Rs 1,386.51 crore.

The farmers have earned net income of Rs 379.49 crore through cotton production, while Rs 684.48 crore from groundnut, an official release said here.

In the district, production of cotton and its processing has taken a ''Great Leap Fordward'', with all 122 ginning and pressing units producing 17.88 lakh bales and making a profit of Rs 400 crore.

The growth in cotton output has provided direct and indirect employment to 20,000-22,000 locals.

Besides agriculture, horticulture has also become another source of revenue generation for farmers. In 1,675 hectares of area, the farmers have grown a variety of fruits such as mango, lemon, berry, pomegranates, custard apples and coconuts.

The administration had distributed 70,435 soil health cards among the farmers in the district, the release added.

UNI AV SSS SR DB2020