Himachal: VP Dhankhar urges rural youth to become agripreneurs, calls for direct support to farmers

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 7 (ANI): Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday visited an exhibition by farmer producer organisations and start-ups at the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry in Himachal Pradesh's Solan. Emphasising the need to empower the farming community, Dhankar called on rural youth to become agripreneurs and help integrate farmers more actively into the mainstream economy.
Speaking at the event, the Vice President said, "Boys and girls like you must initiate farming families into marketing of their produce. Rural youth from the farming community must be trained here to be entrepreneurs and agripreneurs. Their army must rise: this economy is vast, immense, and unparalleled. The farmer's participation in it is very low."
Dhankhar underscored the importance of value addition at the farm level and lamented the limited economic participation of Indian farmers compared to their counterparts in countries like the United States.
"Farmers should be involved with value addition of the produce at the farm level, in isolation or clusters. Even today, the most progressive nations, such as the US, continue to make significant contributions from farmers to their economy. In the US, farming families have a higher average income than ordinary families because government aid goes directly to farmers," he said.
He advocated for redirecting subsidies directly to farmers and called for a push towards organic and natural farming.
"The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi amount that farmers receive annually should increase with time. In economic terms, this amount needs to be factored along with the inflationary component. The government helps farmers significantly through fertilisers, in lakhs and crores. If the indirect fiscal assistance to the farm sector is given directly to farming families, the Rs 6,000 from PM Kisan Samman Nidhi would be supplemented by Rs 30,000 annually. The income of the farmer will be heavily supplemented, as it is in the US. If fertiliser subsidies are given directly to farmers, they will decide whether to buy fertilisers or use cow dung manure. Farmers will think: I'll do organic farming, natural farming. Let the farmer decide!" he said.
Dhankhar also highlighted the need to prioritise food processing at the farm level to prevent wastage.
"Today, we must focus on the rural system. How can we tolerate vegetables and fruits coming to villages from cities? How can we accept that when there's an excess of tomatoes, they're thrown on the roads? We have to decide on value addition at the farmland -- food processing is the way forward. If full food processing isn't possible, at least do primary food processing and get it to the main market," he said.
Touching upon technological innovation, he linked agriculture to artificial intelligence, saying, "We talk about Artificial Intelligence today. I say, you can travel from Agriculture Intelligence (AI) to Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence, through Agriculture Intelligence, is the medium that will bring revolutionary changes to the rural system. It will transform farmers' lives."
The Vice President also called for prioritising high-quality produce for domestic consumption rather than reserving the best for exports. "I feel troubled when people say, 'This is for export.' Why? We should eat the best, wear the best. We are already exporting our best minds! There was a time when no Indian was seen in Silicon Valley. Today, Indians aren't just visible in the world's top institutions; they are controlling them," he said.
Concluding his two-day state visit, Vice President Dhankhar received a warm send-off at Annadale Helipad.

Present on the occasion were Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla and Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh, Mayor Surender Chauhan, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, DGP Ashok Tiwari, and other senior civil, police, and army officers. (ANI)