Indian Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that while he ensured irrigation in more land as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, it also resulted in the diversification from millets and pulses crops to paddy-wheat rotation. But he underscored the importance of raising farmers’ incomes in which irrigation played a major role.
Addressing the 3-day Dryland Congress, organised by ICAR and ICRISAT that commenced in New Delhi on Thursday, Chouhan responded to a comment from M L Jat, Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), praising the minister’s efforts in completely transforming Madhya Pradesh in agriculture.
“What did we change? We arranged water, built dams, constructed canals, and water arrived. But as soon as water arrived, our millets disappeared, our pulses disappeared, and our oilseeds disappeared. We used to grow such wonderful (green) peas here! Now, only two crops are being grown—paddy followed by wheat, and if water is available, then green gram (summer moong) as the third,” he said.
