Farmers can make a simple phone call to seek a visit by the rythu ratham, a comprehensive information source on farming, be it on fertilizers or crop diseases or government schemes. The concept would encourage good agricultural practices and raise farm incomes, says Mr. Kotela. His company, eFresh Portal, has tied up with the Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, the University of North Bengal and the Food Safety and Knowledge Network for this.

The vehicle is equipped with soil-testing kits, pesticide sprayers, protective gear, an LCD projector, a computer system, and training videos, and so on. The material is shown in villages typically in the shade of trees, on gram sabha platforms and at panchayat offices

The government had banned exports of the fibre on March 5 fearing a fall in availability in view of rising consumption at home. According to the ministry, higher exports than anticipated in cotton season 2010-11 reduced the expected carryover of stock for the current cotton season 2011-12, from 48.30 lakh bales estimated by the Cotton Advisory Board to about 33 lakh bales. At the same time production this season was virtually the same as last year’s, and total supply marginally lower.

The above said decision of Government of India shall now benefit only traders of cotton fibre, as they have procured at much lower prices from farmers and now they will be getting enough margins from exports and other duty reimbursements. The farmers will be benefitted in 2012-13 season beginning from October this year only whereas foreseeing this move of Government the area under crop may rise.

PM said the government’s flagship agricultural plans like Bharat Nirman, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and the Rainfed Areas Development Programme and other agrarian policies have begun to pay off and the country has “reached new plateaus in foodgrain production”.

Food production at the end of the Eleventh Plan will exceed 250 million tonnes, an all time record. Our pulse production, at 18 million tonnes, is well above the previous barrier of 15 million tonnes. We are producing today more milk, more fruits, more vegetables, more sugarcane, more oilseeds and more cotton than ever before. Last year production of vegetables went up by 9.57 percent and nearly two million tonnes of cold storage capacity was created. He said the agricultural growth was likely to be about 3.5 percent per annum during the Eleventh Five Year Plan which is much better than in the 10th. 

He said the key element in that effort must be the contribution of agricultural research. Our farm economy needs much greater injection of science and a knowledge-based approach to increasing incomes and productivity. Both land and water are limited and it is vital that we make progress in agricultural technology, which raises land productivity while also allowing a significant reduction in water use per unit of agricultural output.

10. In terms of India’s GDP, Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) at 2004-05 prices is Rs. 16,93,284 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 15,59,126 crore in 2009-10. In terms of GDP at market prices, the rates of GFCF at current and constant (2004-05) prices during 2010-11 are estimated at 29.5 per cent and 32.0 per cent.