Drought-resistant crops need to be promoted: Pawar

PUNE: Promotion of 'drought-resistant crops' and good price for agriculture produce will help solve farmers' problems in the country, former Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said here on Sunday.

Speaking at the annual general body meeting of the Maharashtra Rajya Draksha Bagayatdar Sangha, a grapes growers' association, Pawar stressed on the importance of water conservation in agriculture as well.

"The biggest problem for the agriculture sector is water availability. Countries like Indonesia are opting for farm produce which consume less water. Even crops like sugarcane are produced with minimum use of water. Adoption of such technologies is needed as it will help farmers in drought-prone areas. These varieties should be brought to India and promoted as drought-resistant crops," he said.

Pawar took a dig at the Union government and said for the present government, reducing inflation means reducing the prices of agriculture commodities.

"A lot more needs to be done to reduce inflation. The purchasing power of citizens needs to be increased to deal with recession-like situation in the country. Most citizens work in agriculture-related sectors. The present government should take efforts to give momentum to this sector. These steps include reducing duties on agricultural products and good price for farm produce," he added.

Onion Rakhi:

Former Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said the rise in onion prices reminds him of his days as the agriculture minister and the media hype on it. "The government has changed but, the ballyhoo on onion prices continue. I recently received a photograph of Onion Rakhi on a social networking mobile application. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also received the same photograph," he said.