Prez appoints panel on increasing agriculture productivity

President Pratibha Patil today announced a high-level Committee of Governors of 14 states to study and recommend steps for increasing agriculture productivity in the country.

The Committee, under the chairmanship of Shivraj Patil, Governor of Punjab and Rajasthan, will also suggest measures for enhancing profitability, sustainability and competitiveness of the agriculture sector in India with special reference to rain-fed area farming.

Besides, it will deliberate on the need for formulating requisite policy initiatives and legislative measures, institutional reforms including restructuring and convergence of schemes at local level so as to integrate with the village economy and avenues and prospects for investment in agriculture and allied sectors.

"It will also discuss measures for transfer of innovations and new cutting edge technologies to the farm and allied sectors, steps to meet the emerging scenario of farm labour and farm mechanisation," a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said. Also, the panel will recommend the role and participation of agriculture-related Public Sector Undertakings, agriculture universities and research institutions both at the Central and State levels in the promotion of sustainable agriculture and knowledge management and a way forward for Farmer-Industry Partnership, the official said.

Agriculture contributes about 14% to the country's GDP Other members of Committee are N N Vohra, Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Margaret Alva, Governor of Uttarakhand, K Rosaiah, Governor of Tamil Nadu, K Sankaranarayanan, Governor of Maharashtra & Goa, Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary, Governor of Meghalaya and H R Bhardwaj, Governor of Karnataka. Bihar Governor Devanand Konwar, Governor of Nagaland Nikhil Kumar, Assam Governor J B Patnaik, Chhattisgarh Governor Shekhar Dutt, Governor of Mizoram Vakkom Purushothaman and Lt Gen (Retd) Bhopinder Singh, Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands are also part of the Committee.