‘Scientists Must Inform Farmers About Advanced Tech to Benefit Them,’ Says State Agri Minister

"Agricultural research institutions are doing fantastic work; however, we need to inform them on sophisticated technology that is available to them," said state agricultural minister Baldev Singh Aulakh on March 20.

Aulakh was speaking as the keynote speaker at the two-day Pushp Krishi Mela & Bougainvillea Festival, which wrapped off on Monday at the CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute in Lucknow.

When speaking with scientists working with the CSIR's floriculture mission, he emphasized the importance of providing a market to farmers in their immediate vicinity in order to make the ongoing floriculture mission a success.

"Scientists should take every conceivable step to empower farmers and make them self-sufficient," he said, hoping that this mission will connect more farmers to the network.

"There is a strong demand in the floriculture business, due to which flowers have been imported to meet the need. If farmers take floriculture seriously, not only will our country become self-sufficient in the floriculture sector, but farmers would gain as well," stated PK Trivedi, director, CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow, and Shakti Vinay Shukla, director, Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre, Kannauj.

More than 500 persons, including farmers and businesses from 24 farmer clusters developed across the country, participated in the course.

About 10 lakh planting materials (bulbs and seeds) and educational agricultural literature, among other things, were supplied," said KJ Singh, senior scientist and Pushp Krishi Mela convener.