There'll be a time when people will have cash but no products to buy: Tomar

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday said that there'll be a time when people will have money but not products to buy.

Tomar was addressing the Fourth convocation ceremony of Chaudhary Charan Singh National Agricultural Marketing Institute, Jaipur (Rajasthan) and inauguration program of the Incubation Center.

"There'll be a time when people will have money but not products to buy," he said while referring to the limited number of people involved in the field of agriculture.

Highlighting the importance of agriculture in India, Tomar said, "We all know that the field of agriculture is essential for our country. Increased geographical area, area of different climates and increased population dependent on agriculture, act as a challenge for us."

"Decreased interest of people in the field of agriculture is the main challenge for agriculture. With the availability of other areas to earn money, people involved in agriculture have declined. There will be a time when people will have money in their pockets but not products to buy," he said.

Focusing on the ways to overcome this challenge, Narendra Singh said, "To overcome the agricultural challenges, we are targeting to involve more people in agriculture. We are trying to decrease the cost and increase the profit in extensive farming."

"To attend this milestone we're trying to finish the middlemen involved in farming so that the farmers should get the total price of the crop", he added.

Further, he also spoke about the expectations the world is having from India.

"Today the world has a lot of expectations from India. Half of the world is dependent on India for food, taxes and medicines. There is no lack in the farmer's hard work or in the schemes of the government, said Narendra Singh.

"Job is necessary for livelihood, but to bring agriculture in the right condition is also our responsibility," he added.

Narendra Singh also spoke about the increased number of startups in the field of agriculture. He said, "In 2014 there were only 32 startups in the field of agriculture and today more than 20 thousand startups are working in the field of agriculture.