Punjab will be frontrunner state in white, blue agriculture

Sri Muktsar Sahib (Pb), Jan 12: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today recalled the contribution of Punjab farmers in transforming India from a food deficit to food surplus nation and said due to their hard work and dedication the state will soon emerge as frontrunner in "white and blue" revolution also.

Addressing a gathering on the concluding day of Livestock Expo and National Championship here today, the Chief Minister said the hard working and resilient farmers of the state had scripted a new chapter in the history of nation by making it self-reliant in food production through the "Green Revolution" in 1960s.

"In this great service of the nation, the farmers of the state have even sacrificed the only available natural resources of the state in term of fertile soil and water," he said, according to an official release.

"Due to the hard work and dedication of farmers the state will soon emerge as frontrunner in "white and blue" revolution also," he stated. Badal further said that with the squeezing margins of profit agriculture was no longer a profitable occupation due to which farmers were facing a lot of problem for their basic subsistence.

"In such a dismal scenario, the only silver lining for the farmers is the allied farming sector, which has a huge potential in the state. In order to emerge out of the current agrarian crisis, the Punjabi farmers must take the initiative of opting for the allied farming activities like dairy farming, piggery, apiary, goatery and others.

"This will bail out the farmers from the crisis by supplementing their income," 87-year-old Badal said. Expressing gratitude to the farmers of nine states who had come to take part in the Expo, the Chief Minister announced that from the next year this event would be organized at much bigger scale. He said that this would enable the farmers to update themselves about the emerging technologies in the field of agriculture and livestock sector.

PTI