Diversification of crops, insurance needed: NABARD Chairman

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala today emphasized on diversification of crops and sustainability of agriculture in the country.
He said that insurance is the necessity of the present agriculture segment and farmers must come out from the mesh of regular crops.
Bhanwala said that besides crops, the farmers' and their animals should also be insured.
Bhanwala, who was speaking at the National Seminar on 'De-risking Indian Agriculture: Crop Insurance Way' organised by the University School of Management, Kurukshetra University here today, said his father is a farmer so he can understand the requirements and pain of a farmer too.

Agriculture scientist Devendra Sharma in his keynote address, highlighted the plight of Indian farmers and expressed concern on increasing farmer suicides in the country.
He also underlined the importance of increasing minimum support price for crops.

Sharma said that it is wrong to assume that crop insurance would make farmers rich and there would not be any suicide.
Sharma said that while salaries of teachers, government employees, and corporate executives have increased over 100 times since 1970, the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of farm products has increased only 19 per cent.
He said that MSP was the only good thing done in favour of farmers in the early '70s.

Though farmers in Punjab and Haryana are getting MSP, their counterparts in other states like Bihar are not getting it which is forcing them into heavy losses.