Gurugram: In a move being seen as a bold push to globalise Haryana’s agricultural prowess, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has directed officials to fast-track an agriculture partnership with Kenya, envisioning cultivation of 1 lakh hectares of land by Haryana farmers.
The directions came after Saini held a meeting to review a report on a visit to Kenya by a 20-member delegation led by the Haryana Agriculture Minister, Shyam Singh Rana, aimed at strengthening cooperation with Kenya in the agriculture sector.
Rana visited Kenya along with senior agricultural department officials and a few progressive state farmers between 9 and 13 October.
Pawan Chaudhary, adviser to the Haryana chief minister in the Department of Foreign Cooperation, who was also part of the delegation led by Rana, presented the report of the Kenya visit.
A senior delegation official told The Print on Thursday that meaningful meetings were held in Nairobi with the International Institute of Agricultural Research, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), and the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI).
Discussions covered agricultural innovation, mechanisation, climate change strategies, food processing and export-import collaboration.
“However, one of the most important meetings the delegation had was with Patrick K. Ole Ntutu, the governor of Narok County of Kenya, at his invitation. He offered land to Haryana farmers on lease if they were willing to come to Kenya and cultivate land in that country,” the official told The Print.
He said that several farmers from Punjab and Gujarat were already farming in Kenya by leasing land and some other Indians, including people from Haryana who have settled there, are also involved in agriculture in the region.
While the land is fit for wheat, rice and other crops commonly grown in Haryana, many Indian farmers have been cultivating flowers and avocados, earning rich profits.
“We also had a meeting with those farmers who said that there is no dearth of land in that country if people were willing to come and cultivate land there. The only issue is that agriculture techniques in Kenya, including irrigation and mechanisation, are what we used to witness 50 years back in India,” the official told The Print.
He said that Kenya currently imports wheat and rice, besides other agricultural products from India; however, there is ample scope for the production of these two commodities in that country.
“The crop cycle in Kenya is nearly two months behind Haryana’s. They sow wheat from October to mid-November and harvest it in May to June while in Haryana, it is October and April, respectively. For paddy, they sow it in July and August and harvest in December to January. In Haryana, we sow in June and July and harvest in October and November,” the officer added.
When asked how many farmers are likely to go to Kenya for farming, the official said that the purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to create opportunities for Haryana farmers. The proposed MoU will cover cultivation on one lakh hectares of land, and once an avenue is created, several progressive farmers would show interest, he added.
The official said the Narok County governor is visiting India to participate in the Gita Jayanti Mahotsava being organised by the Haryana government in Kurukshetra from 15 November to 5 December.
Saini told the media after the review meeting on Wednesday that Kenya’s climate and soil conditions are favourable for Indian agriculture, allowing Haryana’s farmers to leverage their expertise abroad.
He stated that the Haryana government’s initiative would not only enhance Haryana’s global agricultural identity but also open up new economic opportunities for the state’s farmers.
Saini said that the BJP government in Haryana wants to make the state’s agriculture sector one of its biggest strengths, globally competitive.
He said that the Kenya visit would open new global avenues, not just for Haryana farmers, but also for the state’s agriculture experts and entrepreneurs.
He said that Haryana and Kenya had agreed to initiate exchange programmes between agricultural universities and research institutions of both sides for cooperation in research, training and new technologies in agriculture.
India India-Kenya MoU was approved in 2017
According to a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release issued on 4 January 2017, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the signing of an MoU between India and Kenya on bilateral cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors.
The release said that the MoU covers a range of activities, including agricultural research, animal husbandry and dairy, livestock and fisheries, horticulture, natural resource management, post-harvest management and marketing, soil and conservation, water management, irrigation farming systems development and integrated watershed development and integrated pest management.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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