When Shivraj Singh Chouhan was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, the state had an agricultural growth rate of 6.5% per annum, while the national rate of growth was just 3.7%. The agricultural revolution in Madhya Pradesh caught everyone’s attention. The biggest question now is whether 65-year-old Chouhan, as the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, can implement it across India. Chouhan, who also holds the portfolio of Rural Development, discusses his vision and the challenges in an interaction with Rahul Kanwal, News Director of India Today and Aaj Tak and Executive Director of Business Today, and BTTV Managing Editor Siddharth Zarabi, at the BT India@100 summit. Edited excerpts:
RK: One of the biggest promises made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in 2016 was to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. That promise is lagging. Do you think farmers’ incomes can be doubled, and how?
I disagree that incomes haven’t increased. Under the leadership of PM Modi, several revolutionary changes have taken place in agriculture over the past 10 years. Our strategy aims to increase farmers’ incomes and ensure the country’s food security. Our population is 1.4 billion today and will grow to 1.6 billion by 2047. As purchasing power increases, so will the consumption of food items. From that perspective, we need to meet India’s needs. Efforts to increase farmers’ incomes will continue. We will
