Sir,
This has reference to the news item ‘Indian agricultural growth stagnates’ DE Sept 19.
It is a matter of great concern that the Agriculture sector in India does not receive the attention it deserves. Instead of it, the Industrial sector gets all attention.
The Government has now given Green signal to FDI in Retail. Despite many pressures, the Government has decided to go ahead. The FDI may become a success story only if our farm sector is healthy because Walmart or others will get their raw material from agriculture sector only. There are many reasons to give air to these apprehensions. In case we survey our agriculture land in Jammu and Kashmir, it is shrinking day by day rapidly. The people here consider agricultural activity as unproductive, hence they are converting this land for making colonies or sparing it for commercial activities.
Agriculture land in R S Pura which is known as the rice bowl of Jammu and is famous for producing world famous basmati is shrinking. This phenomenon is witnessed throughout length and breadth of the State. In Kashmir, people are converting rice fields into orchards with the belief that rice can be imported from other states.
The Government is already seized of the matter, and had initiated several measures in this connection. But these steps have not been implemented yet.
The Government and the concerned agency should wake up to this challenge and stop conversion of agriculture land.
Yours etc…
Sukhvinder Singh
Nanak Nagar, Jammu
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