Himachal speaker wants more funds for agriculture

Himachal Pradesh assembly Speaker B.B.L. Butail has advocated the need for allocating appropriate budget for development of agriculture, an official statement said here Monday.

"Agricultural research and development budgets are very low in most of the developing countries," Butail said while speaking at the 59th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference that began Sunday in Johannesburg in South Africa.

Butail, himself a tea planter, said the research enhanced the capacities of small farmers to increase production and productivity.

"Therefore, parliament must ensure that appropriate budget is available to research and developmental activity of the agriculture," he said.

The Himachal assembly speaker said parliamentarians could ensure a policy framework for increased regional networking and collaboration amongst countries for international trade-related research and technology development.

Butail said over the years the government of India has initiated a number of measures to enable the country to achieve four percent plus growth rate in agriculture.

"It has resulted in enhanced production and led the country to witness a record production of 260 million tonnes of foodgrain last year," he added.