Gear up to face new challenges, Hooda asks agri experts

Chandigarh, Sep 10 (UNI) Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today urged the agriculture scientists and agriculture development officers (ADOs) to gear up for meeting the new challenges being faced by the agriculture sector today.

The Chief Minister, who was speaking in the State level conference of ADOs at Hisar today, said the agriculture sector was facing the problem of decreasing land holdings, fertility of soil and increasing dependence on chemical fertilisers.

The State Government was fully aware of these problems of agriculture sector and was taking appropriate steps to tackle these challenges. The Budget for agriculture had been increased from Rs 130.70 crore in the year 2004-05 to Rs 286.29 crore in 2008-09.

He said that Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar had played a vital role in increasing the agriculture production by evolving new variety of seeds of various crops.

In the past, he said, the university had been the victim of politics, but now it would be made immune to any kind of political interference.

He urged the scientists to evolve such varieties of seeds which required less water.''Water should be used judiciously, as it is a scarce resource.'' On the demand of ADOs for giving them equal status and pay scale to that of Veterinary Doctors and Medical Officers, he asked the Agriculture Minister to constitute a committee to look into the mattwr. He said that the status of ADOs should be at least that ofclass II officers.

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