by Bhupen Goswami (PNI)
Guwahati : “Assam Government is taking all steps to ensure the socio-economic wellbeing of the farmers so that they can live a life of dignity. Policies are being implemented to uplift the poor farmers, labourers so that all sections of the population can derive benefit equally from the development agenda of the government. Farmers are the backbone of the state’s economy and therefore, various steps are being taken to empower the farmers.” Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today said while inaugurating ‘Mukhyamantrir Krishi Sa-Sajuli Yojna’ scheme at Dhemaji. Distributing approval letters worth Rs 5,000 each to 10 farmers of Dhemaji district under the scheme the 
Saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has initiated a lot of steps to uplift the poor farmers, Sonowal stated that 32 crore people in the country have been brought under formal banking system through Jan Dhan Yojna and 1.5 crore people in the state have already benefitted by this financial inclusion scheme which has eliminated middlemen from the system while directly transferring benefits under various schemes to the intended beneficiaries. Fasal Bima Yojna, Soil Health Card, Krishi Sinchai Yojna, fixing of minimum support prices (MSPs) for crops, extending an amount of Rs 6000 to farmers under PM-KISAN scheme in union budget 2019 are some of the epoch making steps by the central government, he said. Referring to the farmers of state who were taken to Vietnam for an exposure trip, the chief minister urged the farmers to emulate the example of Vietnam who have achieved rapid economic development through agriculture. Saying that agricultural products from Assam have reached the markets of London, Dubai, Singapore etc through air cargo service launched recently, Sonowal called on the farmers of the state to take advantage of these services to sell their produce outside the state. “Earlier no development used to happen in the state without people here resorting to agitation and now a plethora of activities are happening like approval of five new bridges over Brahmaputra, double tracking of railway lines, Prime Minister Modi inaugurating projects worth Rs 18000 crore on 9 th February including the construction works of AIIMS at Changsari near Guawahti.”
The chief minister said. Calling on the young generation of the state to take advantage of the changing economic scenario of the state by empowering themselves through knowledge and skills, Sonowal urged various organisations of the state to maintain peace and harmony so that students do not get distracted in view of the ensuing HSSLC and HSLC examinations. MoS (independent) for P&RD Naba Kumar Doley informed that tractors would be distributed in 26000 revenue villages of the state under CMSGUY and a total of 5 lakh farmers would benefit from this scheme in the state. Lakhimpur MP Pradan Barua thanked the chief minister for inaugurating the scheme at Dhemaji district and informed that both central and state governments have embarked on a journey to double the farm income of the farmers by 2022. Dhemaji MLA Dr Ranuj Pegu was also present among other dignitaries.