145;Farmers alone not committing suicide146;

Farmers in Maharashtra have been committing suicide, but now we see people who invested in the stock market committing suicide.

8220;Farmers in Maharashtra have been committing suicide, but now we see people who invested in the stock market committing suicide. The world is in the grip of a major economic recession. In every business there are ups and downs and even farmers should face up to this reality,8221; said Ajit Pawar, Minister for Water Resources, Water Supply and Sanitation.

Pawar advised the farmers not to oppose malls and retail stores coming up in the state but sell their products through these outlets instead. He called upon farmers to diversify into businesses like agriculture tourism or take up jobs in different fields to generate additional income.

Pawar was speaking on Saturday after flagging off Krishi Dindi, a month-long tour of officers of the state agriculture department to educate farmers about modern farming techniques. The procession comprises a 8220;krishi rath8221; 8212;a modified a truck carrying an exhibition on agriculture. It will pass through 63 villages across the state. Pawar also inaugurated an agriculture exhibition on the occasion.

On the irrigation front, he said the dams in the state were more than 95 per cent full. But he was critical of the farmers conserving water only when the state faced droughts and wasting it when the situation was normal. Pawar said his ministry had assigned responsibilities to administrative officials all over the state to see to it that farmers used canal water efficiently.

On the shortage of fertilisers in the market, Pawar said it was because many factories in the country had stopped production. 8220;We would be importing fertilizer worth Rs 1,500 crore next year,8221; he said.

Minister for Energy and Higher Education Dilip Walse Patil, who was present at the function, said the state government had failed to properly market the achievements of the Union Ministry of Agriculture. 8220;While 20 nations are facing food shortage, India produced a bumper crop under the present government, hence maintaining food security,8221; he said. State agriculture commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh said the farming industry had suffered losses of more than Rs 90,000 crore last year as crop was destroyed by diseases and other factors.8221;

Vice-Chairman of Maharashtra Council of Agricultural Education and Research, Vijay Kolte, called upon Pawar to start water and soil testing laboratories at the taluka level.These facilities are available only at the district level.