Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government is pushing organic farming to safeguard farmers from the effects of climate change by combining "return to basics" and "march towards the future" with digital agriculture, which the government has budgeted for this year.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT50th )'s anniversary festivities at Patancheru, Hyderabad.

The Prime Minister, speaking at the occasion, said, "Our focus is on the integration of both 'Back to fundamentals' and 'March to Future' to safeguard our farmers from climate change. More than 80% of the country's small farmers are in desperate need of assistance. Digital agriculture is a significant component of India's changing landscape. Natural farming and digital agriculture are the emphasis of the Union Budget 2022-23."

The Prime Minister stated that the government is aiming to bring a large area under irrigation by connecting rivers and conserving water. He added that the government is supporting micro-irrigation to improve water use efficiency in places that aren't watered.

"We're concentrating on both food and nutrition security. In the previous seven years, we've produced a number of bio-fortified varieties based on this idea. We plan to increase the area used in the palm oil business to 6.5 lakh hectares in the next several years "he stated. The government is concentrating on strengthening FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations) and the agriculture value chain.

The Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and Rapid Generation Advancement Facility at ICRISAT was officially opened by Prime Minister Miniter. He also unveiled a commemorative stamp commemorating the event.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised ICRISAT's efforts to boost India's agriculture industry, saying the institute has a five-decade track record of assisting other countries in making agriculture easier and more sustainable.

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