Centre has ended middlemen's role in procuring agri-products: Minister

To ensure better monetary benefits to peasants, the Union government has launched a system to eliminate the role of middle men in procuring farming produce, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has said.

"The agencies desirous of purchasing farm produce will have to contact the farmers directly. It will ensure higher monetary returns to the farmers for their crops," Singh said here Sunday.

The system has been developed by the Centre and the state governments will implement it, said the minister while unveiling a 'Para Check Card' aimed at helping peasants detect worm afflictions and other ailments in their sheep and goats.

The card lists the symptoms of various ailments and their medical remedies for goats and sheep, serving as a ready reckoner for rearers.

The card was developed by the Central Institute for Research on Goats (CIRG), based at Makhdoom near here.

It is a good attempt by the scientists to save time and money of the goat-rearing farmers as the card would serve as an incognito doctor," said the minister, while unveiling the card.

Singh also distributed some goats and sheep to poor farmers to encourage them towards goat rearing, besides inaugurating a solar power plant at CIRG, a premier research institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

CIRG Director Man Mohan Singh Chauhan said with the help of the Para Check Card, the farmers would be able to detect worm afflictions in their pets merely by checking the colour of their eyes and start the de-worming treatment.