Sadhguru addresses Farmers Meet, Coimbatore

15 March, 2007

March 15, 2007 Sadhguru brought to the fore some of his early life, farming experiences along with a slew of ideas that could be adopted by the farmers to bring about a change in their lives, during his keynote address at the Farmers' Meet in Coimbatore on March 15, 2007. The meet was organized by the National Agriculturist Awareness Movement (NAAM).

Sadhguru emphasized the significance of augmenting farm productivity in the face of future challenges as agricultural imports are bound to increase. "This could be achieved by lowering the cost of production and employing new farming practices using high tech farm implements." This, he said, would also open export avenues which would bring better remuneration for farmers. Sadhguru attributed the current plight of the farmers to the unavailability of good prices for the farm produce and dearth of transport, market and storage facilities.

Even as over 60% of the country's population is into agriculture, its contribution to the nation's GDP is negligent. This is the reason for the neglect of the farming sector by the state and the central government. Sadhguru suggested bringing 20% of the farming community under allied activities like transport and technology among others.

He mentioned that Isha Foundation was negotiating with a major company to set up training centers for farmers.

D R Karthikeyan, President of NAAM and former director of CBI, T S Prabhu Raja, State President of NAAM, and K Nammalvar, organic farming scientist spoke on the occasion.