The State government will start industrial units for the production of value-added agricultural products, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
He was virtually inaugurating the State-level harvesting of organic vegetables and paddy cultivated under the Subhiksham Surakshitham project at Kanjikuzhy in the district on Thursday.
“We are planning mass production of value-added products. The cooperative sector can play a vital role in setting up the units,” Mr. Vijayan said, urging the local self-government institutions to take the lead.
Safe food for all
The Chief Minister said the government had planned a slew of projects for strengthening the agriculture sector. It was the responsibility of the government to provide safe food for all. He said the government was working to make the State self-sufficient in vegetable production. “Vegetable production in the State has increased in recent years. In 2016, paddy was cultivated in 1.70 lakh hectares. Despite the 2018 floods, the area under paddy cultivation was expanded to 2.25 lakh in 2018 and further to 2.31 lakh hectares in 2021,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that accurate weather forecasting was important for the preparation of an agricultural calendar, taking into account climatic changes.
The project, part of the State government’s 100-day action plan, was aimed at cultivating various crops in 5,000 hectares. Officials said that a total of 23,566 hectares in 14 districts had been brought under cultivation as part of the Subhiksham Surakshitham – BPKP (Bharatiya Prakartik Krishi Padhathi). Besides paddy and vegetables, tuber crops, plantain and so on have been cultivated as part of the project.
Agriculture Minister P. Prasad presided. A.M. Ariff, MP, Thomas K. Thomas, MLA, and others attended the function.
