In order to double the income of the farmers of the state, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has provided agricultural loans to 2 lakh 72 thousand 588 farmers through Kisan Credit Cards in the last four and a half years. A total of 1,386 crore 53 lakh rupees has been disbursed to the farmers. Yesterday, Secretary of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department Apurba Roy informed this news at a press conference. He said that after the coming of the present government in the state in 2018, the productivity of food grains has increased and overall development of the socio-economic condition of the farmers has improved a lot. The department is working tirelessly to double the income of the farmers. He said that the present government has decided to purchase paddy for the first time from Rahi season in 2018. As a result, a total of 1 lakh 30 thousand 793 metric tons has been procured since 2018-19. Paddy has been purchased from 70 thousand 23 farmers at Minimum Support Price and a total of Rs. 243 crore 76 lakh has been deposited in farmers account.
At the press conference, the secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said that recently the state government has decided to buy paddy from the farmers at the rate of 20 rupees 40 paisa per kg from next season. He said that the present government has adopted a three-year plan (2020-21 to 2022-23) with an aim to increase the average monthly income of farmers in the state to Rs 13,590 by 2022-23.
The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said that the government has started using liquid organic fertilizers in rice cultivation since 2019-20. The government has distributed a total of 60.000 litres of liquid NPK organic fertilizers to the farmers in the last two seasons for higher yield of hybrid rice. An initiative has been taken to set up an organic products laboratory in the state. The secretary said that currently the work of forming Farmer Producer Organizations in 41 blocks out of 58 blocks is going on in our state. So far 27 FPOs have been registered. These FPOs are involved in cultivation of aromatic paddy, pineapple production and endangered species and also working towards self- sufficiency through honey production, cultivation and marketing of various spices, mushroom cultivation etc. He said for the benefits of farmers, the government has launched Mukhyamantri Fasal Bima Yojana in 2020-21 to bring paddy farmers in the state under insurance policy. As a result, where earlier farmers had to pay a premium of 220 rupees per Kani, now farmers are getting an opportunity to get insurance with a premium of only 10 rupees per Kani.
At the press conference, the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said that a total of 38 agricultural sub-divisions have been established in 38 blocks of the state in order to deliver the benefits of several agricultural activities and improved agricultural services to the farmers directly and quickly. In addition, The Secretary of Agriculture Department said in the press conference that it has been decided to open 5 more new agricultural sub-divisions in Jolai Bari, BC Nagar, Poang Bari, Nalchar and Bamutia blocks soon. The Director of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department Sharadindu Das was also present at the press conference.