CHANDIGARH: Dr Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from Punjab, who unveiled the report titled “Punjab Vision – A Blueprint for Progress,” discussed the importance of crop diversification, agri-processing, industrial infrastructure, and skill training for the development of Punjab.The report, a part of the Punjab Vision 2047 held in November last year, details various recommendations in the agriculture sector for crop diversification, including millets in the mid-day meal and providing millets in the 5 Kg Ration Scheme. “Punjab should create and promote AI technology for sustainable crop diversification and should set up AI-driven chatbox to assist farmers,’’ Sahney said.On agri-processing, Sahney said that there is an urgent need to set up food processing parks, preferably through multipurpose cooperative societies in a cluster of villages with storage and processing facilities, oil extraction, flour mills, processing and packing of spices, pulses, honey, mushrooms etc.He also emphasised the need for organic farming with institutions like MARKFED and Punjab Agro to provide market linkages. Sahney also proposed setting up of crop specific clusters like pulses, oil seeds, and cotton in Malva, Sugarcane in Doaba, Maize in Hoshiarpur, dairy development in Kapurthala, Floriculture in Ludhiana, Litchi in Pathankot and Chillies in Ferozpur .
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