Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that his government was helping farmers to take agriculture on a new path, and laid focus on natural farming and millets.

Addressing an event in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, the prime minister emphasized the importance of working towards a common goal of having Indian food products on dining tables across the globe.

His remarks came amid a protest by a section of farmers over their various demands such as a legal guarantee for minimum support price for crops.

"We are assisting and encouraging farmers to take our country's agriculture on a new path," he said.

He emphasised the focus on natural farming and millets. "This is the right time for investment in superfoods like millets," he said.

He cited the emergence of large-scale natural farming along the banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh, which not only benefits farmers but also helps preserve the purity of sacred rivers.

The prime minister appealed to food processing entrepreneurs to prioritise the mantra of "zero effect, zero defect" in their endeavours.

He highlighted the success stories of products such as Siddharth Nagar's kalanamak rice and Chandauli's black rice, which are now being exported in significant quantities, and pitched for collective efforts to take Indian food items to people across the world.

The prime minister encouraged entrepreneurs to form partnerships with farmers, underscoring the government's efforts in empowering small-scale farmers through farmer producer organisations and cooperative societies, which present opportunities for mutually beneficial partnerships.

"Benefit to farmers and agriculture is good for your business too," Modi told the investors.

He also referred to the Bharat Ratna award to former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

"Just a few days ago, our government had the privilege of awarding Bharat Ratna to the messiah of farmers, Chaudhary Charan Singh," he said.

The award to Singh, the son of the soil of Uttar Pradesh, is an honour for crores of labourers and crores of farmers of the country as well, he added.

On Uttar Pradesh's pivotal role in driving the rural economy and agriculture-based economy of India, the prime minister called upon stakeholders to maximize the benefits of this opportunity.

He expressed confidence in the capabilities of the people of Uttar Pradesh and the efforts of the "double-engine government" in laying the foundation for the state's and the nation's progress.

Modi launched 14,000 projects across Uttar Pradesh worth more than Rs 10 lakh crore at the fourth ground-breaking ceremony here on Monday for investment proposals received during the UP Global Investors Summit.

The projects relate to sectors such as manufacturing, renewable energy, food processing, housing and real estate, hospitality and entertainment, and education.

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and several industrialists and representatives of top global and Indian companies attended the event.

Modi's remarks on agriculture and rural economy came amid a protest by a section of farmers over their various demands.

Farmers from Punjab began their march to Delhi on February 13 but were stopped by security personnel at Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjab's border with Haryana.

Thousands of protesting farmers have been camping at the Punjab-Haryana border since as part of their 'Delhi Chalo' march.

Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the protesting farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, and reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013.

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