MANGALURU: The central government will soon introduce a policy for agricultural exports to provide better market for Indian farmers, said Union commerce minister Suresh Prabhu.
The minister was speaking after inaugurating the new Campco chocolate factory amenity building at Puttur on Sunday. "Better market is essential for farmers to lead a happy life. Hence, we have thought of introducing a new policy for agricultural exports. The draft of the policy is ready and the same will be made available online. Concerns of farmers regarding agricultural export market will end once the policy is implemented," the minister said.
Further, he said the government is aware of the problems being faced by rubber cultivators. "We will soon announce a national policy for rubber. In addition, the government will also announce a package for spices. Farmers in India are facing threats due to the intervention of middlemen and foreign players. We need to protect farmers from the both. The electronic trading that is being introduced in the first phase will eradicate the menace of middlemen and the proposed policy for agricultural exports will address all issues related to foreign market," Prabhu said.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of rural development, Prabhu said the development of the nation is nothing but the development of villages. "Farmers in India are being empowered, thanks to the contributions of cooperative sector. The role of the cooperative sector in the rural development is significant. Cooperative societies should enter into agro-processing industries too. Campco is a role model for the entire nation in this direction," he said.
Sahakar Bharati national president Jyontindra Mehta, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, MLA Shakunthala Shetty, DK ZP president Meenakshi Shanthigodu and Campco president S R Satheeshchandra were present.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com