India's Haryana state to double farm output by 2020

Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the state government aims to double agriculture production by 2020 and scientists should provide the latest agriculture technology to the farmers to achieve this objective.

Haryana's water resources were depleting day-by-day and agriculture production had stagnated in recent years, the chief minister said.

India needs a second green revolution and this requires the participation of farmers, agriculture scientists and all industry stakeholders, said Hooda.

The chief minister also said Indian farmers would have to compete globally, therefore they need the latest agricultural techniques to increase production, and the private sector should set up food processing plants so that farmers can have access to better marketing facilities.

State agriculture minister Paramvir Singh said the agriculture department had set a production target of 128 lakh tonnes for winter crops.