Chandigarh, November 19 – Haryana Agriculture Minister, Mr. O. P. Dhankar said that the work of special girdawari to assess the damage caused by whitefly and other pests to cotton, guar, bajra and other Kharif crops is almost complete and the work of disbursing compensation would be started within the next 20 days.
In a statement issued here today, Mr. Dhankar said that the state government is committed to increasing the income of farmers and making them prosperous. For this, centres of excellence for fruits and vegetables have been established to encourage farmers to take up horticulture and cultivation of other cash crops instead of traditional crops. Also, a Horticulture University is being established in the state, he added.
The Minister said that an agricultural insurance scheme of Rs 500 crore is being prepared with the support of the Central government for this purpose. This scheme would be announced soon. Apart from this, proposal to promote agricultural tourism is also being considered.