Tag: State Agriculture Department

Stress on alternative agricultural methods to tackle rain deficit

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To effectively counter the deficiency of rainfall in the districts of south Bengal this year, the State Agriculture Department is working on alternative agricultural methods to ensure that the farmers can carry out cultivation without much difficulty.

The preparation for sowing kharif crops kicks off in June and by the middle of August, the process gets over. But since the monsoon has been very feeble till date, the preparation has not started properly.

Hence Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed the department to adopt alternative agricultural methods, so that crops can be sown even if there is scanty rainfall.

The average deficiency of rainfall in south Bengal is as high as 60 per cent. The department is working on procedures like river-lift irrigation and usage of submersible pumps to facilitate the sowing of kharif crops.

The Bangla Krishi Sech Yojana had been introduced to extend support to farmers in setting up micro-irrigation facilities that ensure cultivation, of mainly fruits and vegetables, using less quantities of water. The department will extend this scheme to the maximum possible area.

The department has also started a campaign among farmers to create awareness on conservation of water and not extract groundwater indiscriminately. The move comes in the wake of the chief minister’s laying special emphasis on the Jal Dharo Jal Bharo Scheme for conservation of water.

Source: Millennium Post

 

Bengal Govt to go for double certification of seeds

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The State Agriculture Department will soon introduce double certification of seeds before they are distributed among farmers. The step will ensure that each and every seed germinates, providing a better yield for farmers.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had recently given an instruction to ensure that farmers do not face any problem in terms of seeds. The decision on double certification of seeds is a follow-up on that.

Double certification entails certification of the seeds before they are packed and again, on random basis, after the packing, said a departmental official. The Agriculture Department is also taking necessary steps to set up more seed laboratories across the State.

Source: Millennium Post

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Bengal Govt to provide year-round training to farmers

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The State Agriculture Department has initiated steps to ensure round-the-year training programmes for farmers at Mati Tirtha, located in the district of Purba Bardhaman.

The requirement for year-round training was felt to ensure that farmers keep getting regular updates on agricultural activities, including on the latest techniques, and are able to implement the same.

A team of senior officials from the Agriculture Department had visited Mati Tirtha on June 13 and prepared a detailed report on the sort of infrastructure required for round-the-year training of farmers.

Mati Tirtha is the permanent venue of Mati Utsav that takes place in January every year where, among other activities, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee felicitates successful farmers from different parts of the State.

Source: Millennium Post

State Govt to tie up with State univs for large-scale aromatic rice production

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The State Agriculture Department has decided to tie up with two State universities to develop methods for increasing the productivity of the varieties of aromatic rice indigenous to Bengal.

Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya and Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya will provide assistance to the department.

After getting geographical indication (GI) tags for gobindobhog and tulaipanji rice, which, to a large extent, was the result of the active encouragement of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Government has been exploring a variety of ways for commercial exploitation of the varieties. Other indigenous varieties like kalonunia are also being considered.

Tulaipanji and kalonunia are mostly cultivated in the northern districts of the State while 70 per cent of gobindobhog is produced in Raina in Purba Bardhaman.

Research will be conducted on whether the varieties of rice can be grown in newer regions, to increase total productivity and to benefit local economies. These varieties are already being exported in moderate amounts. Large-scale production would also increase exports manifold. Cheaper methods of cultivation would also be researched.

Source: Millennium Post

Bengal set to boost raw silk production

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With Bengal witnessing a nine-fold increase in the production of bivoltine silk in the past seven years, the State Government is targeting to extend the cultivation of raw silk on a new area of 1,620 acres during the 2018-19 fiscal.

During the 2017-18 fiscal, the area of plantation was increased by 1,733 acres and it resulted in an yield of 2,540 metric tonne (MT) of mulberry raw silk, 34.50 MT of tasar raw silk, 2.60 MT of eri raw silk and 185 kg of muga raw silk. Infrastructure, including 898 rearing houses, 147 vermi-compost sheds and 10 cocoon storage buildings were developed to extend support to silk farmers during 2017-18.

The State Agriculture Minister has said that the production targets for raw silk for 2018-19 are 2,575 MT mulberry, 46 MT tasar, 6 MT eri and 400 kg muga.

Of the 1,620 acres of land that will be brought under sericulture during 2018-19, 1,000 acres will be for mulberry, 400 acres for tasar, 70 acres for muga and 150 acres for eri.

Large areas of land in the districts including Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura and Birbhum (together comprising the region of Jangalmahal) were brought under tasar cultivation during 2017-18, from which 18,040 people benefitted.

It may be mentioned that the production of bivoltine silk was 7.16 MT during 2012-13, which has gone up to 36 MT during 2017-18.

The State Agriculture Department will be organising a symposium, in which officials of agriculture, horticulture and sericulture sections will be present. Representative of silk-farmers will also be attending the symposium.

Source: Millennium Post

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