Maharashtra approves Rs 4 crore for foreign study tour of 180 farmers amid drought

Drought conditions have set in across the state. In this situation, the agriculture department and Agriculture Minister Dattatray Barne have taken a major decision for the benefit of farmers. Under it, 180 farmers from the state will be sent abroad on a study tour.

The state government has approved Rs 4 crore for the tour, and the agriculture department has also granted administrative approval. Farmers will be selected at a cost of Rs 4 crore. On the tour, they will be able to closely study modern technology, export of farm produce, its sale and processing.

The method of selection has also been fixed. Five farmers will be chosen from each of the state's 34 districts, making 170 in all. The remaining 10 will be selected through a state-level committee, bringing the total to 180.

Nine agriculture department officials will accompany the farmers so that they get proper guidance abroad and can understand the technical aspects.

The main aim of the study tour is to give farmers an opportunity to study international practices. They will see how modern agricultural technology works, what changes are taking place in farming and how the move towards future technical research is progressing. The tour will also teach them about markets being created for farm produce, the guaranteed prices farmers' produce gets and how farm produce is exported.

Farmers will also be trained in the sale of farm produce, storage management and the food processing industry.

The opposition has criticised, to some extent, the spending of Rs 4 crore to send 180 farmers abroad in the middle of a drought. The opposition holds that this expenditure is unnecessary.

Meanwhile, the state government has also decided to deposit financial assistance of Rs 5,000 directly into the bank accounts of drought-hit farmers before Diwali, as immediate relief.