New Delhi, Oct 11 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated projects worth Rs 42,000 cr to transform the agricultural and allied sector.

Two major schemes -- the PM Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana and Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses were launched with an outlay of Rs 35,440 crore.

Projects valued at over Rs 5,450 crore were also rolled out in the agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and food processing sectors.

PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for additional projects worth around Rs 815 crore.

Addressing the event, the Prime Minister noted that farmers have a major role in building a developed India.

'Farmers have a bigger role in making India 'Viksit Bharat'. India must become not only self-reliant in food, but also produce export-oriented crops for the global market,' he said.

The Prime Minister added that the recent GST reduction has given maximum benefits to rural India and farmers.

While the previous government neglected the agriculture sector, PM Modi said the sector has seen remarkable growth in the last 11 years.

'India's agricultural exports have nearly doubled in the past 11 years. Grain production has increased by nearly 900 lakh metric tonnes. Fruit and vegetable production has increased by more than 640 lakh metric tonnes. Today, India is number one in milk production. We have undertaken reforms... from seeds to markets in the interest of farmers,' the Prime Minister said.

PM Modi urged the need to 'continuously strive to improve in every field, keep making progress,' to become a developed country.

'Today, emphasis is being placed on animal husbandry, fish farming, and beekeeping. This has empowered small farmers and landless families. In villages, Namo Drone Didi... are leading the way in modern methods of spraying fertilisers and pesticides. The recent reforms in GST... have benefited the people in villages, farmers, and animal rearers the most,' the Prime Minister said.

PM Modi also urged farmers to diversify crops beyond wheat and rice, focusing on pulses to ensure protein security. The Pulses mission is necessary to reduce India's import dependency by enhancing domestic production, he said.

Other projects inaugurated include artificial insemination training centres in Bengaluru and Jammu and Kashmir, centres of excellence at Amreli and Banas, an IVF lab in Assam under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission, milk powder plants at Mehsana, Indore, and Bhilwara, and a fish feed plant under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana at Tezpur.

The event also marked important milestones achieved under government initiatives, including 50 lakh farmer memberships in 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), of which 1,100 FPOs recorded an annual turnover of over Rs 1 crore in 2024-25.

/IANS