8th meeting of Agriculture Ministers of SCO countries chaired by Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar
The 8th meeting of Agriculture Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries was held through video conferencing under the chairmanship of Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China and Pakistan participated in it along with India. Under the chairmanship of India, SCO member countries adopted the Smart Agriculture project. Expressing satisfaction over the smart agriculture action plan and the initiative of innovation in agriculture, Tomar said, India has taken several concrete steps to promote smart agriculture.
Welcoming everyone to the SCO meeting on behalf of India, Union Minister Tomar said that India gives importance to its relations with SCO in promoting multilateral, political, security, economic and people-to-people interactions. It is a matter of pleasure and pride for us to organise a meeting of SCO Agriculture Ministers to discuss strengthening cooperation in food security and nutrition, especially in the current situation.
He added that India is the largest employer globally in the agriculture sector, where more than half of our population is engaged in agriculture and allied sectors, while India also represents an important economic activity for many countries. Its importance is also evident from the fact that India’s budget allocation for agriculture and allied sectors has increased more than 5 times in 10 years from 2013-14. Over the years, India has performed well in the agriculture sector, contributing to global food security with food grain production, registering a significant growth in exports, and exports of agricultural and allied products have crossed Rs 4 lakh crore.
