Madhya Pradesh working towards bringing 65 lakh hectares land under irrigation: CM Chouhan

NAGPUR, (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said his state is working towards bringing 65 lakh hectares of land under irrigation from the present 45 lakh hectares.

Speaking at the inauguration of annual Agro Vision exhibition in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, Chouhan pointed out that Madhya Pradesh has grown in the agriculture sector not only with conventional farming, but by also adopting modern techniques.

Chouhan said that when he became the chief minister only 7.5 lakh hectares of land in Madhya Pradesh had been under irrigation.

”Today, 45 lakh hectares of land in the state is irrigated and by 2026, we will bring 65 lakh hectare under irrigation,” the Madhya Pradesh chief minister said. Chouhan further claimed that Madhya Pradesh has increased the production of wheat over the years and it surpassed Haryana and Punjab last year.

Madhya Pradesh had purchased 1.29 crore metric tonnes of wheat on minimum support price, he said. Speaking about the steps taken by the state towards diversification in agriculture, Chouhan said farmers were encouraged to take up fruit, vegetable, flower and medicinal farming, as the state had surplus food stocks.

”Now, bamboo farming is not just carried out in forests, but farmers have also started cultivating bamboo in thousands of acres of farmland,” the chief minister said.

The agriculture development rate (krishi vikas dar) of Madhya Pradesh has seen more than 18 per cent growth since the last 10 to 12 years, he added. (PTI)