Centre backs development of cotton plucking machine in Maharashtra
2025-05-21 11:36:09
Centre Boosts Cotton Harvesting Tech in State
Nagpur : Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appreciated Maharashtra for working on developing a cotton plucking machine. Chouhan said the govt will offer full support as he also directed his ministry's mechanisation division to work on a similar project.
Chouhan said he saw a similar machine during his visit to Brazil, and it can carry out work equivalent to 12 farmhands.
The topic came up as state's minister for agriculture Manikrao Kokate said the availability of farm workers is a major problem affecting the sector and mechanisation can be a solution to it. Cotton plucking is a labour-intensive job. Chouhan also stressed the need to understand soil health to ascertain the right cropping pattern.
The minister asked the farmers to give natural farming a chance too. It's not necessary to entirely convert to natural farming. One can start with a small portion of the entire holding. If done properly, natural farming does not bring down the input. However, some farmers do not follow the proper method and miss out on certain inputs.
He also called for diversification of crops to maintain soil health. Chouhan was speaking at a function to launch "One Nation-One Agriculture-One Team", a programme aimed at bringing coordination among all the stakeholders in the sector.
