India Launches Agri-Clinics to Help Farmers Grow

New Agri-Clinics Will Give Farmers Expert Advice

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan shared exciting news on Tuesday. The government plans to open agri-clinics all over India. These clinics will give farmers expert advice and services on many farming topics.

Recent Talks and Campaigns

Officials and scientists just finished a two-week campaign. This campaign, named ‘Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan,’ linked scientists with farmers. It ran from May 29 to June 12. The aim was to hear farmers’ thoughts and ideas.

On Tuesday, they talked about how to grow the agri-clinics network. A country-wide network of these clinics will help farmers a lot. They can get advice tailored to their crops when facing issues with farming or using inputs like pesticides and fertilizers.

Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres Plan

The agriculture ministry has run the ‘Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres’ plan since 2002. They work with Nabard on this. But the plan hasn’t grown as much as they hoped.

The plan wants to use the skills of agriculture graduates. These graduates can open agri-clinics or agri-business centres. They offer professional services to farmers, such as:

• Soil health tips
• Cropping methods
• Plant protection
• Post-harvest technology

Crop-Specific Problems

At Tuesday’s meeting, the ministry decided to talk about crop-specific problems with farmers. Each crop has its own set of challenges. The ministry will start by talking with soybean farmers in Madhya Pradesh on June 26. They will have similar talks for other crops like cotton, sugarcane, pulses, and oilseeds in different states.

Buying Approvals

At another meeting, the ministry approved the buying of moong (green gram) and urad (black gram) in Madhya Pradesh. They also approved the buying of urad in Uttar Pradesh under the Price Support Scheme (PSS).

This scheme helps when the market prices of certain pulses and oilseeds fall below the minimum support price (MSP) during peak harvest time. It makes sure farmers get fair prices.