PM Modi lauds India's farmers for higher crop production amid Coronavirus

NEW DELHI: The farmers of India have proved their mettle even during the Covid-19 pandemic and the sowing of Kharif crops has been seven per cent higher than the last year while cotton has been sown about three per cent higher, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

"There is a mantra in the Rig Veda which means...praise to the giver of food, praise to the farmer. Our farmers have proved their mettle even during this Covid-19 pandemic. Sowing of Kharif crops has been seven per cent higher than last year. Paddy has been sown 10 per cent higher, pulses 5 per cent, coarse grain oats cereals around three per cent, oilseeds about 13 per cent and cotton has been sown about three per cent higher," said the Prime Minister during his monthly "Mann ki Baat" programme.

"I congratulate farmers of our nation, bow down before their toil," he added.

The Prime Minister further pointed out that Onam is a festival linked with farming. It is the time of a new beginning for our rural economy.

"Our lives and society are driven by the power of agriculture. Our festivals derive their colour only through the hard work of our farmers. Vedas have also gloriously described the life-giving energy of our farmers," the Prime Minister.

He said that the verve of Onam festival can be felt everywhere and it is turning out to be an international festival.

"The zest of Onam today has reached distant shores of foreign lands. Be it America, Europe or Gulf countries, the verve of Onam can be felt everywhere. Onam is increasingly turning out to be an international festival," the Prime Minister said.