Singh: Sowing seeds

New Delhi, March 25: The government has decided to set up two authorities ? the national rainfed area authority and the national fisheries development board ? to spur agricultural growth.

The decision was taken at the first meeting of the Agriculture Co-ordination Committee chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.

The national fisheries development board will be an autonomous publicly-funded professional body modelled on the lines of the National Dairy Development Board, focussing on marine and inland fisheries development.

The national rainfed area authority will focus on investment in rainfed areas, offer institutional and technological support for dryland agriculture, encourage investment in rainwater harvesting and wasteland development.

The details of the two authorities will be worked out by the ministry of agriculture and put up for cabinet approval shortly.

The Prime Minister said the UPA Government had increased credit availability to farmers and raised budgetary allocations to ministries responsible for agricultural and rural development and rural employment.

Singh emphasised the need for effective utilisation of resources allocated. “If productivity and production do not increase we would only be pouring money down the drain. Hence proper utilisation of the allocations that have been provided is critical,” he said.

The Prime Minister said funds allocated to agriculture should be properly spent so that the farmers benefit and there is a significant increase in production.

Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said while foodgrain production had touched 210 million tonnes in 2005-06, by 2020 India would require 310 million tonnes of foodgrain.

To meet this growing demand, the country will require a package of supportive policies, which will have to be implemented not just by the central government but also by state and local governments, said Pawar.