Rajasthan expects Rs 7,000-crore investment during agri-meet

NEW DELHI: Rajasthan government is expecting an investment of Rs 7,000 crore in the upcoming agri-technology meet starting November 9 in Jaipur, State Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini said today.

The three-day Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM) 2016, is expected to witness the participation of around 50,000 farmers and 200 industry players, he told reporters here.

The event is jointly organized by the Rajasthan government and FICCI. Israel is the partner country for the event.

"Farmers will get to know the technological advancements and global best practices in this event. We will also showcase investment opportunities in the State to agri-business communities across the world," Saini said.

"We have already received investment proposals worth Rs 4,000 crore. We expect this figure to reach about Rs 7,000 crore. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed during the event," he said, adding that investment could come from foreign countries like Israel and Australia.

The Minister highlighted several steps taken by the State government to double farmers' income by 2022 like promotion of horticulture crops and organic farming. Rajasthan is also promoting cultivation of olive, date palm and pistachio to give farmers option to diversify into non-traditional crops.

"Our aim is to become the top state in the agriculture sector," he said, adding that NITI Aayog had ranked Rajasthan third, after Maharashtra and Gujarat, in the area of agricultural reform.

The event is aimed at ensuring economic empowerment of the farmers. It would showcase global best practices and best of technologies suited to the agro-climatic conditions of Rajasthan. It is expected to be an important platform for investors, manufacturers, academicians and researchers.

To promote agri-entrepreneurship, a special pavilion on start-ups will be set up. Furthermore, there will be a special pavilion on organic farming as well to promote herbal and medicinal plans.

Neelkamal Darbari, Principal Secretary, Agriculture, Government of Rajasthan, said the focus will be on innovative farming techniques and high value crops to give farmers the incomes due to them.

Rajasthan has 40,000 villages and the effort is to bring at least one farmer from each village to the mega event, she said.