Jaipur, Nov 10 (IANS) The Rajasthan government inked 38 Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) worth Rs 4,400 crore on Thursday -- the second day of "Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM) 2016" -- for investments in agriculture and allied segments.
On behalf of the government of Rajasthan, Principal Secretary (Agriculture) Neelkamal Darbari and Secretary (Animal Husbandry) Kunjilal Meena signed the MoUs with the investors.
Union Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini were present on the occasion, according to an official statement.
The MoUs were signed in various segments of agriculture and allied sectors like animal husbandry, fishery and agro tourism.
As per the statement, MoUs worth Rs 1,732 crore were signed for direct investment and Rs 200 crore for indirect investment by the Department of Agricultural Marketing.
The Agriculture Department inked MoUs worth Rs 1,654 crore for direct and Rs 40 crore for indirect investment.
MoUs worth Rs 538 crore were signed in the horticulture sector.
In the animal husbandry sector, MoUs worth Rs 272 crore for direct investments and Rs 302 crore for indirect investment were signed.
The total MoUs worth Rs 4,400 crore are expected to provide 19,293 direct and 27,379 indirect employment opportunities in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said: "Every state needs to focus on the growth of farmers and agriculture, apart from industries. Only then the country will grow in real sense."
The agriculture sector has not received the importance it should have, he said and appreciated the Agritech Meet for drawing investors' attention to the sector.
"As a sector, agriculture is important and more and more younger generation people should opt for farming," Naidu noted. He also emphasised on initiatives in the agriculture and allied sectors.
Raje said that the urban-rural gap will get further reduced with the concerted efforts the state is making.
She asserted that the projects for which MoUs have been signed will come up within a year, and added: "One will see farmer-entrepreneurs soon."
Addressing the gathering, Saini said these MoUs will help in taking the economy of Rajasthan ahead.
"The state has huge scope in areas like modernising mandis, cold chains, olive oil and custom hiring, among others."
The three-day global meet is being organised by the Government of Rajasthan, in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
