Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that his government was committed to empowering farmers at an event at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute here.

On the occasion, the prime minister released 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient, and biofortified varieties of crops and interacted with farmers and scientists on the occasion. He said the climate-friendly and high-yielding varieties of crops would boost the income of farmers.

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He expressed satisfaction with the farmers transitioning to natural farming.

The prime minister listened to the experiences of the farmers and discussed with them the benefits of natural farming in detail.

In a post on X in Hindi, Modi said, “We are committed to empowering our farmer brothers and sisters. In this direction, today we got the opportunity to release 109 new crop varieties in Delhi. With the increase in production from these climate friendly and high yielding varieties, the income of our farmers will also increase.”

“I am satisfied that our farmer brothers and sisters are also rapidly moving towards natural farming. Today, I got a chance to know his experiences closely. During this time we also discussed the benefits of natural farming in detail,” the prime minister said in another post on X in Hindi.

The 109 varieties of 61 crops released by the prime minister included 34 field crops and 27 horticultural crops. Among the field crops, seeds of various cereals, millets, forage crops, oilseeds, pulses, sugarcane, cotton, fibre, and other potential crops were released. Among the horticultural crops, different varieties of fruits, vegetable crops, plantation crops, tuber crops, spices, flowers, and medicinal crops were released.

Dwelling on the importance of these new crop varieties, Modi emphasised the significance of value addition in agriculture. Farmers said that these new varieties will be highly beneficial as they will help reduce their expenditure and also have a positive impact on the environment.

Modi discussed the importance of millet and underlined how people are moving towards nutritious food. He also talked about the benefits of natural farming and the increasing faith of common people towards organic farming, adding that people have started consuming and demanding organic foods. The farmers appreciated the efforts undertaken by the government to promote natural farming.

The farmers also lauded the role played by Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in creating awareness.

The prime minister suggested that KVKs should proactively inform farmers about the benefits of the new varieties being developed every month to enhance awareness about their benefits.

Modi also praised the scientists for developing these new crop varieties. The scientists informed that they have been working in line with the suggestion given by the prime minister to bring unutilised crops into the mainstream.

Later, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said 109 varieties of seeds of 65 crops have been prepared. “I congratulate the scientists for producing these varieties of seeds. The 109 varieties of seeds will increase the profit of farmers, be useful for the nutrition of the public and increase the export…PM Modi wanted information directly from the lab to the land,” he said.

“In three different places, PM Modi has dedicated 109 varieties of seeds to the nation…PM Modi had a conversation with farmers and scientists…PM Modi also gave some suggestions to the scientists…It is the resolve of the government to increase the income of the farmers…It is an ongoing process, those seeds which are released today will take one year from the breeder to foundation seed,” the Union Agriculture Minister added.