2 weeks Ago By Alim Shaikh
Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday announced that the state govt will soon introduce a new policy for group farming. He was speaking to reporters at Paani Foundation 's event in Balewadi after experiencing the response to its Farmer Cup initiative. The CM said that the state govt in 2016 launched a policy for group farming which did not get much attention after 2021.
"Due to group farming, tillers' capacity to invest in agriculture increases. Production cost is reduced, and the production increases. We will work on the convergence of all schemes for farmers and make them available for group farming.
We will also provide financial assistance to these groups," Fadnavis said. Actor Amir Khan, one of the founders of Paani Foundation, announced that their Farmer Cup will be open from next year for the whole state. Currently, it is organised only for some tehsils, but the decision to expand it across Maharashtra was taken following the CM's request, he said.
According to a KPMG report based on the farmer groups that participated last year, the production cost reduced by Rs 16,500 per acre when group farming was used, while their production increased. The production of soybean crop increased by 83% while the production of maize increased by 109%, and for cotton, it increased by 72%. Fadnavis said that govt is trying to ensure that agriculture in the state goes beyond relief and rehabilitation.
"Currently, we invest around Rs 10,000 to Rs 10,500 crore every year in agriculture, but that goes towards financial assistance to farmers for crop damage or excess rainfall etc. This does not lead to investment in the agriculture sector," he said. Govt wants to increase capital expenditure in agriculture through schemes like Nanaji Deshmukh Krishi Sanjivani Yojana and the SMART scheme.
He said that around 75% farmers in the state are small landholders for whom mechanised farming is unaffordable, making farming non-profitable for them. The CM said that there are over one lakh employees working with the state govt under the agriculture and water resources department, and they will all stand behind Amir Khan and his foundation to ensure the successful implementation of the cup's success across the state. He also announced that farmers will get electricity in the daytime from December 2026 as govt is working on converting power feeders into solar feeders.
"Currently, around 2,000 megawatts of conversion is already completed, and before Dec 2026, a total of 36,000 megawatts of power will be generated from solar energy, and farmers will start getting power supply 12 hours in the day," he said. Nagpur peaceful, curfew not needed Fadnavis on Sunday said that the situation in Nagpur was peaceful. "People from all religions are living peacefully.
There was no need for a curfew; hence it was lifted," he said. Earlier on Saturday, police lifted the curfew from some areas, while in Kotwali, Tehsil, Ganesh Peth, and Yamuna Nagar areas, it was relaxed between 7pm and 10pm. On Sunday, the police lifted the curfew from all places across the city.
.
