GUWAHATI, Dec 4 � The State is silently ushering in a green revolution and its Agriculture Policy is also ready now. Preparations to constitute an agriculture commission and to form Krishak Parishad for the welfare of the State�s farmers are also nearing completion. Besides, preliminary efforts are being made to establish a modern terminal market for selling agricultural produce.
The cropping intensity in the State is expected to go up to 148/150 from the existing 142 this year signifying beginning of a green revolution in this part of the country.
By this time, State�s jute area coverage has amplified by 40 per cent. The State could produce more than 2 lakh 35 MT of jute this year, which is almost double of its last year�s related figure. Meanwhile, the State Agriculture Department has placed a demand before the Central Government to raise the minimum support price of jute to Rs 2,400 per quintal.
Moreover, the State is expecting maximum production of potato and mustard seeds this year.
Agriculture Minister Nilamoni Sen Deka made the above statements while talking to The Assam Tribune. He further told this newspaper that the present State Government has also proposed a State Nodal Agency to procure paddy from the farmers. But for the current year, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been authorised to procure paddy from the farmers, he said.
The annual Kharif Plan of the State has been prepared with the target to produce 60 lakh metric tons (MT) of crop from next year. Further, the Agriculture Department has taken steps to market the surplus vegetables produced in the State in other parts of the NE region.
The Farm Management Committees have now been planned to be set up as farm-based ones, against the existing village-based ones. This is expected to strengthen the agriculture sector and to enable the farmers to derive the benefits of the schemes meant for their uplift, said the Minister.
The Agriculture Department has received an amount of Rs 50 crore from the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund to establish cold storage facilities in the State. These facilities would be set up in the public-private partnership mode.
Plans are also afoot to establish rice mills at various places and to produce improved seeds in the farms of the Agriculture Department. By this time, arrangements are made to set up farm training centres at four of these farms and in the rest of the farms such steps would be taken up in phases.
In the meantime, the State has been able to set a record of producing 50.60 lakh MT of paddy. It has also been able to produce 46.16 lakh MT of vegetables and 16.44 lakh MT of fruits and for all these achievements the State has been adjudged first among the second category states by the Central Government. It is pertinent to mention here that the states that produce annually more than 100 lakh MT of paddy are classified as first category ones.
