10-07-2025
Agriculture should turn remunerative for farmers, says Krishnaraj Vanavarayar in Coimbatore
Agriculture sector should be remunerative for farmers, said educationist Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, who inaugurated the 23rd edition of agriculture fair Agri Intex 2025 in Coimbatore on Thursday.
More number of people are moving out of farming though it is generally said that agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy. There is an increase in production of food grains and productivity is also on the rise. Mechanisation is picking up in farming and there is an export market too. Yet, farmers are unhappy and their children are not venturing into agriculture. 'The country should move towards agriculture,' he said.
According to K.P. Singh, ADG, Farm Engineering at the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), agriculture constitutes 18% of the GDP and women in agriculture are 35% to 40% . By 2047, when the country is expected to be a developed nation, women will constitute 65% of agriculture. In such a situation, 'We need to think of mechanisation and intervention.' While mechanisation in agriculture is growing annually at 8%, artificial intelligence and robotics in agri mechanisation are seeing 15% growth.
R. Thamizh Vendan, Registrar of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, said the University has launched a Climate Smart Village project at 365 villages. The University has a weather forecast for the next 25 years for these villages and sends the farmers weather alerts every day through a mobile application. About six lakh farmers are benefitting from it, he said.
The Agri Intex event has more than 600 stalls and nearly two lakh farmers are expected to visit it. While entry is free for farmers who have an identity card, the entry fee for the public is ₹50 a person.
