PHDCCI Organizes Webinar on “Best Practices Taken by the Government in Agriculture and Agri-Business to fight COVID-19”

To understand the challenges and way forward in the field of agriculture, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industries, conducted an interactive Webinar on " Best Practices Taken by the Government in Agriculture and Agri-Business to fight COVID-19 Crisis" with Dr. Prem Kumar, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Resources, Govt of Bihar. The session witnessed a participation of more than 60 industry players and senior members of PHD Chamber all over the country.

Mr. Pradeep Multani, Vice President, PHDCCI said that the objective of the webinar is to understand the policies and the initiatives undertaken by the Govt of Bihar in case of the crops and other perishable goods, which can also be adopted by other states. He also requested the Hon’ble Minister to throw some light on the stimulus packages for the farmers. The poultry and the fisheries are also badly affected during COVID-19, hence strategic solutions and an understanding is required be able to overcome these challenges as agriculture is the largest contributor to our economy.

Dr. Prem Kumar appreciated the efforts of the organization for organizing such an interactive webinar on such a significant issue in these critical times of COVID -19. He also spoke about how the Govt of Bihar is aiding and helping the farmers to overcome the challenges in the times of this pandemic. “Agriculture is the backbone of Bihar's economy and almost 77% of the workforce are farmers. And the lockdown has badly affected them, stopping all of their activities. He said that the agriculture sector is facing a lot of trouble with laborers and movement of goods. Even as agriculture produce is exempted from lockdown directives being an essential commodity, still the sector is facing a lot of challenges.

Mr. N.K Aggarwal and Dr. R.S Khanna, Chairman and Co- Chairman-Agri-Business Committee, PHDCCI were also part of the webinar and expressed their concerns over the problems faced by the farmers in Bihar since almost 77% of the workforce here is part of the agricultural sector.