Please do produce oilseeds, there is great demand in India: FM Nirmala Sitharaman to farmers

New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday (November 12) urged farmers to produce oilseeds in place of other crops as India mainly imports edible oil and palm oil.

"We are telling farmers which crops will give them a better price in the area. We are also telling them what all crops can be irrigated or cannot be irrigated on the rain-fed land," she said while addressing the sixth World Congress on Rural and Agriculture Finance in New Delhi.

"The support price may be given for other things, but please do produce oilseeds because there is a great demand in India. Edible oil consumption is also a matter of great concern, as we still import quite a lot quantity, particularly palm oil," she said.

The Union minister also requested National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Chairman Dr Harsh Kumar Bhanwala to visit Jammu and Kashmir to ensure that the farmers get the correct price of their products in the next season.

"You are aware that recently we used NAFED to procure apples from Jammu and Kashmir so that there is no single farmer left with his unsold apples. I am ensuring that I will take the Chairman of NABARD to Jammu and Kashmir so that the Agri producers can get the right price for their next crop of saffron, peaches and walnuts," she added.

The Union minister also stated that the Central government is making efforts to push sustainable and renewable energy sources in rural areas to provide farmers with an additional source of income.

Sitharaman also announced that 10,000 farmers produce organisations will be formed so that the agriculturalists can get the correct price for their produce and also "credit and other assistance from the government can be extended to them".

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