Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for helping farmers go beyond the crop-based profits and expand their horizon through value addition, and praised the Chhattisgarh government's bid to make farming more profitable.

Addressing the dedication ceremony of the new campus of the National Institute of Biotch Stress Management here through video, Modi underlined the need to promote production of crops based on local climatic conditions.

He distributed the Green Campus Award to agriculture universities and interacted with farmers of different states on innovative methods. He dedicated 35 special crop varieties with different traits.

Modi appreciated the Chhattisgarh government’s efforts to make farming more profitable and to save crops from the effects of climate change.

The Millet Mission launched in Chhattisgarh to promote millet production was the need of the hour, he added.

The Prime Minister mentioned the gauthans built under Suraji Gaon Yojna and cowdung procurement under Godhan Nyay Yojana.

He praised the Chhattisgarh government for utilizing the cowdung procured in the gauthans for production of organic manure and, now, for generating electricity.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel assured the Prime Minister that Chhattisgarh will have an active and extensive participation in the awareness campaign launched by the Centre for promotion of climate tolerance techniques and methods.

He said many steps have been taken to minimise the effects of climate change in the state. The state is set to commence producing electricity from cow dung from October 2.

Baghel urged the Prime Minister to grant permission to produce ethanol from the excess paddy and permitting to mill other kinds of paddy.