Doordarshan launches DD Kisan

The 24x7 TV channel will be dedicated to Indian farmers. The launch is in sync with PM Narendra Modi's efforts to help India's rural youth re-engage with agriculture.

Addressing a gathering of farmers at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion of the launch of Doordarshan's DD Kisan, dedicated exclusively to farmers, has called for increasing food-grain productivity from two tons per hectare to three tons per hectare. The Prime Minister also stressed on making the 'Tehsil', the unit of agricultural planning and development.

According to Modi, if the country has to move forward, villages must progress, and if villages are to progress, then it is essential for agriculture to progress. He shared that, over a period of time, agriculture has lost its attraction amongst other professions, while the right actions and right incentives can reverse this trend.

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

Farmers, according to him, need to adopt a three-pronged approach to agriculture, which is balanced farming, animal husbandry and tree plantation.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch of DD Kisan channel, the Minister for Agriculture, Radhamohan Singh, says that it is a golden moment for the farmers as the channel will help in taking new research technologies from "Lab to the Land". Kisan Channel would facilitate the farmers in providing information regarding the policy initiatives undertaken in the agriculture sector.

Minister of State for I&B, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, says that it was the Prime Minister's vision which had inspired the launch of Kisan channel. The platform would enable the benefits of technology accruing to the farmers. He further mentioned that this channel would inform, educate and update farmers with the latest developments in the area of farming on a 24x7 basis.

Prasar Bharti's chairman, Dr. Surya Prakash says that the non-Hindi speaking farming community would also be benefitted by the launch of Kisan channel as the various programmes would also be available in other regional languages.

The 24x7 Kisan channel will telecast updated information on agriculture and related subjects 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 conditions well in advance, and the low-cost measures to protect crops/enhance produce during such conditions.

Advice of IMD scientists and agricultural scientists would be broadcast periodically for the farmers, so that they may know about crop diseases, ways to protect crops from diseases and how to increase the crop yield. The channel will give information on newer ways of agricultural practices being followed world over and the R&D in the agri sector across the world. The channel has tied up with IMD, IARI, Agricultural Universities and Krish Vigyan Kendras.