Bhildi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the farmers in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district had transformed the region into a major potato-producing centre, remarking that they no longer needed anyone to promise to turn potatoes into gold because they were already doing so through their work.
Referring to the region’s agricultural growth, PM Modi said the availability of Narmada water and the adoption of modern irrigation methods such as drip irrigation had changed Banaskantha’s agricultural landscape.
“Banaskantha’s potatoes are now famous across the world. Nobody needs to come here and say they will make gold out of potatoes. The people here can say that they are already doing it,” he said while addressing a gathering at Bhildi.
The controversial “potato in, gold out” remark was made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a speech in Patan district on November 12, 2017.
The Prime Minister also referred to the expansion of the potato-processing plant at Sanadar, which makes French fries. “The expansion will increase the plant’s capacity and allow it to procure more potatoes from farmers,” he said.
The facility is expected to provide an additional market for potato growers by linking agricultural production with food processing. The expansion was among the projects inaugurated during PM Modi’s visit to Banaskantha.
He also highlighted the role of the Banas Dairy cooperative, saying its work was extending beyond Gujarat and contributing to the cooperative movement in other parts of the country, including Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency. “The dairy’s experience and services had also benefited people in his constituency,” he said.
The Prime Minister referred to the government’s horticulture cluster development programme, under which 12 clusters had been approved for crops including tomatoes, potatoes, chillies, grapes, bananas, onions, oranges, pomegranates and cocoa.
The programme is intended to support farmers in establishing new orchards and rejuvenating existing ones, with subsidies being provided for the work.
Two of the clusters are in North Gujarat and are expected to benefit potato farmers in Banaskantha and Sabarkantha. The projects are part of a broader effort to expand horticulture and improve the value chain for farmers by connecting cultivation with processing and markets.
PM Modi also urged farmers to conserve water and electricity, recalling that he had faced protests during his early years as Gujarat Chief Minister when he asked farmers to use these resources carefully.
“The availability of Narmada water and micro-irrigation had helped overcome earlier constraints and changed the region’s agricultural prospects,” he noted.
The Prime Minister’s visit also included the inauguration of a new automated storage and retrieval system for ultra-high-temperature milk products at Banas Dairy’s Palanpur facility and the foundation stone laying for two Bio-CNG plants that will process cattle dung.
(IANS)
