Hon’ble Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, Government of India interacted with a woman farmer Smt. Darshana Pednekar from Goa

    Hon’ble Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, Government of India interacted with Mrs. Darshana Pednekar, a woman farmer from a village Parra of Bardez taluk, North Goa, Goa on 28/09/2021 during a programme on ‘Climate Resilient Agriculture and inauguration of ICAR-NIBSM’ through a virtual programme platform. During the interaction, she spoke about technologies and trainings provided by ICAR – Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, North Goa, Goa. Crop diversification, improved varieties of rice, cowpea, watermelon, chilli and their cultivation practice helped her to improve the productivity and income. Further, she told to the Hon’ble PM on how she converted waste in to wealth by production of vermicompost, backyard poultry farming using indigenous breeds for regular income, processing of the coconut for oil production for additional income, production of Jeevamrut, etc. to diversify the income through value-addition. Hon’ble PM was impressed by the fact on adoption of farm mechanization and practicing land preparation using tractor and accessories by herself to reduce the labor cost. From an area of 4 acres, she earned a net profit of Rs. 4.70 lakh in a year by adopting the improved technologies, crop diversification, value-addition and farm mechanization. She stressed upon how marketing her own produce lead to improved income by selling the vegetables/fruits in the local market. She motivated her sons and family members to continue the farming alongside doing their job. As ‘seeing is believing’, more than 50 farmers from her village and nearby areas adopted these technologies and earning better income and made agriculture as profitable venture. She thanked the Hon’ble PM for giving the opportunity to interact with him and the support and guidance by the Dr. Parveen Kumar, Director and team of ICAR-CCARI and KVK to improve the income and livelihood of the family.