Chalk out action plan to make agriculture profitable: Badal

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged the Centre to constitute a committee to chalk out an action plan to make agriculture a profitable venture so that farmers don't commit suicide.
Agriculture is facing an acute crisis and the need of the hour was to save it, so as to ensure that country's food security was not in peril, Badal told media persons on the sidelines of a function to observe martyrdom day of Parja Mandal leader Shahed Bhagat Singh Dhandogal here.
He said that the committee should be asked to give its recommendations at the earliest and the Union government must take no time in implementing it.

"Agriculture is no longer a profitable venture as its input cost have increased manifold whereas the farmers are not getting remunerative prices of their harvest," Badal added.
The Chief Minister said that the powers regarding agriculture in the country were in the hands of the Centre and the state governments have hardly any role in fixing the prices of crops or the agriculture inputs.
Badal said that he had been raising the issue of agrarian crisis with the past and the current government at the Centre with a plea that the formula given by renowned agri-scientist Dr M S Swaminathan, regarding fixation of MSP of crops, must be implemented for the safeguarding the interests of the peasantry.

"Any further delay in this regard will prove fatal and the agriculture in the country will be ruined," he added.
The Chief Minister said that it was unfortunate that even after passing of more than 67 years of independence the dreams of the freedom fighters have not been fulfilled yet.