The government on Wednesday said the interests of the farming community would not be compromised in attempts to integrate the Indian economy with the rest of the world on issues before the World Trade Organisation.
"Measures will be taken to safeguard the interests of the farming community and we would not compromise on them," Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh said at the 74th annual general meeting of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in New Delhi.
Though the Indian economy is re-aligning itself with the new WTO economic order, the interests of the domestic farming community would be preserved at all costs, he said.
The minister also announced forming a task force under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Agriculture Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav to speed up the activities of the Agriculture Technology Management Agency.
The taskforce would submit its report within three months, he said.
On the targeted four per cent annual growth rate for the sector in the Tenth Plan, Singh said this can be achieved only by focusing on a higher foodgrains level with a continuous thrust on research and development activities.
Stressing on the need to extend the latest technological developments to farmers, he said, "This is needed for transforming our agriculture sector."
He asked the apex R&D body ICAR to promote the concept of bio-technology, bio-farming and bio-fuels at the grass root levels to ensure a sustainable future agriculture growth.
