Guj: Aiyar wants financial backing to agriculture

Anand (Gujarat), July 21: Union Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar today stressed on the need for more financial backing for the neglected agriculture sector.

''We have to rethink our priorities as there has been a sharp decline in agricultural productivity and the technology for agriculture has remained stagnant,'' Aiyar said while addressing the students of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA).

The minister said though India was growing by 9.4 per cent, its agriculture growth was only 2 per cent. It was high time for us to rethink our priorities and give due attention to increase agriculture productivity with active participation of farmers.

He said this year our country was likely to import 60 lakh tonnes of wheat because of decline in production.

Mr Aiyar also wanted that the Panchayati Raj institutions be involved in all centrally-sponsored projects undertaken for rural development for which union government had made a budgetary provision of a whopping Rs 81,000 crore this year. IRMA chairman Dr.Y K Alagh was present on the occasion.

UNI