September 14, 2019
Bangla ahead in farming on many counts
Thanks to the untiring efforts of the Trinamool Congress Government, and the special initiative of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in many cases, Bangla has become one of the most successful States in the agriculture sector.
The last eight years has been a period of mostly untrammelled success for the 72 lakh farmers (including marginal farmers) of the State.
Let us look at the major successes of Bangla in agriculture during this period:
- Annual farmer income trebled, from Rs 91,000 in 2011 to Rs 2.9 lakh in 2018
- Tax and mutation fee on agricultural land completely waived
- 69 lakh farmers given Kisan Credit Cards
- Bangla Fasal Bima Yojana has provided farmers with free crop insurance
- Old-age pension raised to Rs 1,000, and number of beneficiaries increased to 1 lakh
- Awarded Krishi Karman Award from the Centre five years in a row
- Production of foodgrains increased to 179.9 lakh metric tonnes (MT) in financial year (FY) 2017-18, from 148.1 lakh MT in FY 2010-11
- Total rice production increased to 158.9 lakh MT in 2017-18, from 133.9 lakh MT in 2010-11
- Production of maize increased to 13.3 lakh MT in 2017-18, from 3.5 lakh MT in 2010-11
- Production of pulses increased to 4.4 lakh MT in 2017-18, from 1.77 lakh MT in 2010-11
- Production of oilseeds increased to 10.5 lakh MT in 2017-18, from 7 lakh MT in 2010-11
- Krishak Bandhu: Farmers and marginal farmers owning one acre or more of agriculture land get yearly grant of Rs 5,000, and those holding less than one acre get grant on a proportionate basis, depending on the size of the land with minimum grant of Rs 2,000 per year, both types of grants in two instalments; also, the family will get one-time assistance of Rs 2 lakh on the event of the death of a farmer.
- Agricultural input subsidy worth Rs 2372.56 crore distributed among 58.51 lakh farmers for crop damage due to natural calamities
- Farm implements like tractors, power tillers and pump sets, as well as small implements distributed among 3.7 lakh farmers
- ICT-enabled (information and communication technology) agri-extension project, ‘Matir Katha’, launched to address farm-related problems using hand-held tablet computers and a dedicated portal
- 53.46 lakh Soil Health Cards, with recommendations for application of various nutrients, issued
Share:
