Modi launches `DD Kisan’, first television channel dedicated to farmers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched `DD Kisan', Doordarshan's channel dedicated exclusively to farmers, signalling a change in his industry-focused approach to development.

The 24x7 Kisan Channel will telecast updated information on agriculture and related subject for the benefit of its target audience, including cattle rearers, bee keepers, poultry owners, mechanics and craftsmen.

This would include information broadcast on the changing weather condition well in advance, and the low-cost measures to protect crops / enhance produce during such conditions.

Advice of India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientists and agricultural scientists would be broadcast periodically for the farmers to inform them about various crop diseases, ways to protect crops from various diseases and how to increase the crop yield.

The channel will provide information on newer agricultural practices being followed the world over and the R&D in the agri sector across the world. The channel has tie up with IMD, IARI, agricultural universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, etc.

`DD Kisan' will inform, educate and update the farmers with the latest developments in the area of farming on a 24x7 basis.

Addressing a gathering of farmers at New Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan on the occasion of the launch of the new channel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for increasing food-grain productivity from two tonnes per hectare to thee tonnes per hectare.

The prime minister also called for making the `tehsil' the unit of agricultural planning and development.

He also spoke of incentivising farming and connected activities to make it an attractive profession and reverse the trend of more and more people leaving agriculture to alternative occupations.

The prime minister, in his address to the nation on his government completing a year in office, had acknowledged that growth has meaning only if it empowers the poor, farmers, women, as well as middle and neo-middle classes of all communities.

The prime minister said the DD Kisan channel should keep an eye and inform farmers about the changes in weather, global markets etc, so that farmers can plan ahead and take the right decisions well in time.

He also called for re-engaging rural youth with agriculture in a big way. He said DD Kisan channel could also highlight the efforts of progressive farmers, so that their innovations can be replicated across the country.

The prime minister called for farmers to adopt a three-pronged approach to agriculture, which balanced farming, animal husbandry and tree plantation.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch of DD Kisan channel, minister for agriculture Radhamohan Singh said it is a golden moment for the farmers as the channel would help in taking new research technologies from `lab-to-land'.

Kisan channel will facilitate the farmers in providing information regarding the policy initiatives undertaken in the agriculture sector, he added.

Minister of state for I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore said the new platform would enable the benefits of technology accruing to the farmers. He further said that it was the first such initiative of a public broadcaster to start a 24-hour channel exclusively dedicated to farmers.
 
Prasar Bharti chairman Surya Prakash said that non-Hindi speaking farming community would also be benefitted by the launch of Kisan channel as the various programmes would be made available in regional languages as well.