By IANS,

Ahmedabad : Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi told a gathering of farmers in Junagadh Friday that the four 'Krushi Mahotsavs' organised by the state government were a success.

He said the previous governments had never accorded priority to the farming sector. However, the farmers in the state were very interested to participate in the agriculture campaigns that provide them information about the latest developments in the market, he said.

After the campaign began May 7, 230 Kisan-Raths or farmers' vans have been launched that will visit 18,000 villages during the month-long event. Modi also flagged off Kisan Raths and Nirogi-Bal Rath (healthy baby vans) at Junagadh.

Urging the farmers to pay heed to water conservation, he said drip irrigation should be adopted if rapid progress has to be made.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Purushottam Rupala said Gujarat was the only state where scientists move from village to village and motivate farmers to implement scientific methods of farming.

Agriculture growth rate has touched 12 percent mark, which is much higher than the four percent target set by the central government, said Agriculture Minister Dilip Sanghani.