Delegation Of Syngenta Group Calls On Badal

Chandigarh, November 20, 2015: Underscoring the need for joint efforts by the state government and private entrepreneurs to bail out the farmers at this critical juncture, the Punjab Chief Minister Mr.Parkash Singh Badal today said that this was the need of the hour to ensure food security in the country.

            Interacting with a delegation of globally acclaimed agro and crop science giant Syngenta, which was disbursing free agri-kits to 5300 farmers of 12 districts of the state, at his residence this afternoon, the Chief Minister said that the hard working and resilient farmers of the state had played a vanguard role in making the country self reliant in food production. However, he bemoaned that today the farmers of the country were in crisis for which they need to be bailed out by a collective effort by the state government and industry. Mr. Badal said that apart from making the farmers aware about the ways and means to enhance the productivity of their crops it was all the more important to acquaint them about the emerging trends in agriculture.

            Hailing the efforts made by Syngenta group in distributing these free kits, the Chief Minister asked them to adopt the villages or form clusters to apprise the farmers about the methods to be adopted for increasing their harvest, so that they could get maximum returns. He said that the endeavours of Syngenta group also needed to be replicated by other such firms. Mr. Badal assured fulsome support and cooperation to the visiting delegation for this noble cause so as to transform the destiny of the farmers. "I ardently believe that combined efforts by the state government and the private entrepreneurs can do wonders for safeguarding the interests of the farmers" added Mr. Badal.

            Taking part in deliberations Vice President Commercial Acceptance South Asia of Syngenta Dr. KC Ravi, Commercial Unit Head North Mr. Susheel Kumar and Mr. KS Narayanan apprised the Chief Minister that this initiative called Krishi Vikas was an integral part of company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) under which a program on “Demonstration of Good Agriculture Practices in Wheat Cultivation” was implemented by providing the farmers with support for their next crop cycle of wheat. Through this program Syngenta supplied farmers with special kits containing treated quality seed and crop care solutions for wheat. The company distributed these kits in Bhatinda, Muktsar, Moga, Mansa, Barnala, Sangrur, Amritsar, Tarn taran, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Faridkot.

            The delegation also informed the Chief Minister that 212 MT of the popular wheat seed variety WH-1105 were procured from the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) for catering to 5300 acres. Besides distributing the kits, Syngenta also imparted agronomy and stewardship training to the growers which would enable them to make optimal use of the products.

            Speaking about the CSR program ‘Krishi Vikas’, Dr KC Ravi, said, “We feel humbled that we got an opportunity to extend our support to the farmers of Punjab, who have been contributing immensely to the food security of the country. Our Krishi Vikas kits, with the complete wheat solution, will be used by farmers in the rabi season to safeguard their crop against pests and disease.  ”