PATNA: Agriculture minister Prem Kumar said in the state assembly on Tuesday that the state government would ensure home delivery of high-breed seeds of various crops to farmers through Bihar State Seeds Development Corporation (BSSDC). It will start with the ‘garma’ variety of paddy cropping season.
He said the home delivery of high-breed seeds to farmers was implemented successfully as a pilot project during the Rabi season in Banka district. Accordingly, the decision has been taken to replicate it in other districts during the forthcoming cropping season.
For this, the required money was in the process of being given to BSSDC, he said, adding that the seeds will be made available at lower than the market prices.
The minister was giving the government’s reply to the House debate on the budgetary demand worth Rs3,152 crore of his department for the 2020-21 fiscal. The allotted sum includes the scheme amount (plan expenditure) worth Rs2,395 crore and the committed expenditure (non-plan fund) worth Rs757 crore.
While the cut motion had been moved by RJD member Lalit Kumar Yadav, the House passed the agriculture department budget by voice vote, even as the opposition members led by leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav staged a walkout.
The minister said the state made a great headway in increasing the production and productivity of such crops as paddy, wheat, maize and coarse grains under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar for which the state was given Krishi Karman Award by the Centre on four occasions. Farming activities were done in a planned manner under the overarching guidelines provided by Bihar agriculture road map envisioned by the CM, Prem also said.
From the 2019-20 financial year, arrangement was made for the supply of seeds to farmers on the basis of their demand made online. The department launched a portal for that, the minister said, adding that in accordance with the online demands made by the farmers for seeds, district agriculture officers allotted the quota of seeds to their sellers.
Prem also said during the 2019-20 Rabi cropping season, slightly over 3.03 lakh quintals of high-breed seeds were made available to 6.48 lakh farmers in accordance with their online demand. The home delivery system is the next step after that, as e-Bhavans had been made in 447 out of 534 blocks in the state.
He said the home delivery of high-breed seeds to farmers was implemented successfully as a pilot project during the Rabi season in Banka district. Accordingly, the decision has been taken to replicate it in other districts during the forthcoming cropping season.
For this, the required money was in the process of being given to BSSDC, he said, adding that the seeds will be made available at lower than the market prices.
The minister was giving the government’s reply to the House debate on the budgetary demand worth Rs3,152 crore of his department for the 2020-21 fiscal. The allotted sum includes the scheme amount (plan expenditure) worth Rs2,395 crore and the committed expenditure (non-plan fund) worth Rs757 crore.
While the cut motion had been moved by RJD member Lalit Kumar Yadav, the House passed the agriculture department budget by voice vote, even as the opposition members led by leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav staged a walkout.
The minister said the state made a great headway in increasing the production and productivity of such crops as paddy, wheat, maize and coarse grains under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar for which the state was given Krishi Karman Award by the Centre on four occasions. Farming activities were done in a planned manner under the overarching guidelines provided by Bihar agriculture road map envisioned by the CM, Prem also said.
From the 2019-20 financial year, arrangement was made for the supply of seeds to farmers on the basis of their demand made online. The department launched a portal for that, the minister said, adding that in accordance with the online demands made by the farmers for seeds, district agriculture officers allotted the quota of seeds to their sellers.
Prem also said during the 2019-20 Rabi cropping season, slightly over 3.03 lakh quintals of high-breed seeds were made available to 6.48 lakh farmers in accordance with their online demand. The home delivery system is the next step after that, as e-Bhavans had been made in 447 out of 534 blocks in the state.
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