MOTIHARI: Maintaining that Bihar has tremendous potential for agricultural development, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said for a “developed India, agriculture must develop and farmers must also prosper”.Chouhan said this on Monday when he visited Motihari, the district headquarters town of East Champaran district and interacted with farmers as part of his nationwide tour under the VKSA campaign.“I have come to Bihar to support and serve the farmers here and help increase agricultural productivity. For me, serving farmers is like worshipping God… ‘Ek Rashtra, Ek Krishi, Ek Team’ (one nation, one agriculture, one team) is the motto of this campaign,” he said.“The Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan (VKSA) of the Central government is a landmark initiative aimed at transforming Indian agriculture. For a developed India, agriculture must develop and farmers must also prosper…..Bihar has tremendous potential for agricultural development…..and the VKSA campaign will accelerate the state’s agricultural transformation and empower farmers through greater access to innovation, infrastructure, and institutional support,” he said.The VKSA campaign aligns with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a self-reliant and sustainable India, and seeks to promote the widespread adoption of advanced agricultural technologies across the nation as well as in Bihar, said the union minister.The campaign’s ambitious goal is to reach farmers across India through technology dissemination, capacity building, and grassroots engagement, he said adding the path to national development passes through agricultural prosperity and farmers’ welfare.“Around 16,000 agricultural scientists are engaging directly with farmers. Scientists, state and central agriculture departments and agricultural universities, are working together to find ways to increase production, reduce input costs, ensure fair prices for farmers, and provide compensation in case of losses. Efforts are being made to increase the production of Bihar’s famous jardalu mango, shahi litchi and marcha rice by helping farmers through advanced agricultural technologies...”, said the Union minister.The government in April 2023 awarded the ‘Geographical Indication’ (GI) tag to ‘marcha rice’ (appears like black pepper). This rice is famous for its aromatic flavour, palatability and aromatic chura (rice flakes) making qualities. Prior to this, Bhagalpur’s jardalu mango, katarni dhaan (rice), Nawada’s maghai paan and Muzaffarpur’s shahi litchi have already been awarded GI tag.A GI is a label applied to goods with a particular geographic origin and characteristics or a reputation derived from that origin. An indication that a product is made in a specific location is necessary for a sign to be considered for GI tag.Bihar’s famous shahi litchi is worldwide popular and this fruit has only 48 hours of shelf-life, now the government is exploring options to preserve it for a longer period so that farmers get better prices, said Chouhan. Also, cold storages should be built so that farmers can get the facility to store litchis, he added.Maize production is increasing rapidly in Bihar and maize is also getting good prices. “It is the result of the policy of our PM that maize is now also being used to make ethanol,” he said.“Today I got the opportunity to come to this holy land of Champaran,” he said, adding this land where the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, started a movement (Champaran movement) against the atrocities and injustice being done by the British on the farmers.The VKSA-2025 campaign, which started on May 29 will continue till June 12, engaging farmers across all districts in a mission to build a resilient, inclusive, and future-ready agricultural sector, said a senior official of the state agriculture department.Lok Sabha MP from East Champaran, Radha Mohan Singh, several party MLAs and senior officials of the state agriculture department and district administration were also present on the occasion.