New farm laws will give farmers access to technology, says PM Modi

Reforms will help draw investment in agriculture and benefit farmers, he said

As farmers intensified protests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the recent agricultural reforms would give farmers access to new markets, latest technologies, bring fresh investments in the farm sector, and help farmers increase their income.

Speaking at the Annual Convention of FICCI, Modi said that small villages and towns would power India’s growth in the 21^st century and his government was removing hurdles in development through various reforms.

“The aim of all these reforms is to increase farmers' income and make farmers prosperous. If farmers of the country are prosperous, then the country would also prosper,” the prime minister said even as thousands of farmers protested against the farm sector reforms on the borders of the national capital.

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“We have seen barriers in the agriculture sector and allied areas such as agricultural infrastructure, cold chains, food processing, storage. Now, these barriers are being broken down,” Modi said, urging the private sector to channel greater investments in the farm sector.

The prime minister said that after agricultural reforms, farmers of India can sell their produce both at the mandis, as well as outside. "Farmers can also sell their produce on digital platforms. We have been taking all these initiatives to increase the farmers' income and make them more prosperous", the prime minister said.

“These reforms will give farmers new markets, advantages of technology, and help bring investments. It is my country's farmers who will benefit the most from all this," he said.

The prime minister also asked industry leaders to increase spending in the agriculture sector and pointed out that the private sector had not spent that amount it should have ideally on agriculture.

Modi said that the Indian economy was recovering at a swift pace and economic indicators were encouraging.

The country and the world had gone through many ups and downs during the year, the Prime Minister said and added that the good thing was that things were recovering at a fast pace.

“Things in December have changed a lot since Feb-March. The economic indicators today are encouraging,” he said.