Part of PM Modi’s ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra’, campaign to engage 40,500 farmers across 414 villages
Almora – A strategic meeting to discuss preparations and formulate the action plan for the upcoming Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan was held at ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS), Almora. The meeting, convened under the directives of the Agriculture Minister, saw participation from various agricultural and allied departments along with scientists and technical staff of the institute.
Chairing the meeting, Dr. Laxmikant, Director of VPKAS, emphasized that the campaign is an integral part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, aiming to directly connect farmers with advanced agricultural technologies, government schemes, and innovations. He informed that the initiative targets outreach to approximately 40,500 farmers across 414 villages in the Almora district.
To accomplish this, seven specialized campaign teams have been formed, comprising experts, scientists, technical personnel from the institute, and representatives from agriculture and horticulture departments. Additionally, a dedicated team will conduct the campaign in eleven tribal-dominated villages of Chamoli district. Dr. Laxmikant highlighted that all participating departments will work as a unified team, and feedback from farmers will be collected in a structured format to guide future agricultural policy and planning.
The meeting involved comprehensive discussions on various components of the campaign, including awareness on central and state agricultural schemes, improved crop technologies for the upcoming Kharif season, the benefits of Soil Health Cards, promotion of natural farming, and documentation of farmer-led innovations.
Chief Agriculture Officer V.K. Sharma, Chief Horticulture Officer Dr. Narendra Kumar, and Dr. R.K. Sharma, Head of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Matela, Almora, shared their respective department’s plans to disseminate information and ensure effective execution of the campaign.
Dr. Kushagra Joshi, Senior Scientist and the campaign’s Nodal Officer, urged attending scientists and officials to engage directly with farmers during the campaign and gather their responses in a prescribed format to support data-driven policy formulation.
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to implement Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan as a coordinated and impactful effort to empower regional farmers and drive agricultural self-reliance and prosperity in the hill regions.
