Encourage corporate partnership in agriculture: Chidambaram

Ludhiana, Oct 31 (UNI) Amidst hue and cry against the proposed Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on agricultural land, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today urged the states to seek cooperation of the corporate sector to make farming a ''profitable economic activity''.

''Agriculture today is the biggest private sector economic activity in India,'' the Finance Minister commented in his address at the annual convocation of Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) here.

Laying stress on public investment in agriculture to enable the farmers get remunerative prices for their produce and to convert farming as a profitable occupation, he said that the public investment in agriculture has so far been low.

This, he said, was mainly because of low land holdings across the country. ''No farmer can become rich on one hectare or less of land holding.'' ''Since 2004, an attempt has been made to correct the situation which led to some increase in the public investment in the sector to Rs 12,590 crore in 2004-05 from Rs 8,790 crore at an average between 1999 and 2004. This is expected to have increased further in this current financial year,'' Mr Chidambaram said.

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