Agriculture dept initiates steps for year-round training to farmers

Kolkata: Following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's direction, the state Agriculture department has initiated all necessary steps to ensure round-the-year training programmes for farmers at Mati Tirtha in Burdwan.

Asish Banerjee, the state Agriculture minister, will be visiting Mati Tirtha on June 24, to take a stock of the situation and would discuss the issues related to it with the concerned officials.

It may be mentioned that Mati Tirtha in Burdwan is the permanent venue of Mati Utsav that takes place every year in January. The Chief Minister felicitates successful farmers from different parts of the state in the programme.

Mati Tirtha is spread over a large area as the Chief Minister had directed to take necessary steps so that seminars, programmes and symposiums related to agriculture and its allied departments can be held at the place.

The requirement of organising such programmes was felt, in ensuring that farmers keep getting regular updates and can implement the same while carrying out agricultural activities.

With the initiative taken by the state government, a team comprising senior officials of the Agriculture department visited Mati Tirtha on June 13.

They have prepared a report and there was detailed discussion to ensure presence of all sorts of infrastructure at Mati Tirtha, which is necessary to carry out round-the-year training of farmers.

Sources said that some other departments can also organise training programmes at Mati Tirtha and they have also been approached.

The state government has witnessed massive development in the agriculture sector in the past seven years, with several steps taken by Mamata Banerjee after coming to power in 2011.

The steps have ensured a growth in production of paddy and at the same time, the area for cultivation of crops has also been increased.

Innovations have also taken place in this sector, with research stations under the state Agriculture department working on different aspects of the sector.

The state Agriculture department often organises programmes to aware farmers about new techniques and schemes. Now, the step has been taken up for their round-the-year training at Mati Tirtha. Farmers will be immensely benefitted with initiation of the same.

It may be recalled that Mamata Banerjee had initiated the Mati Utsav to celebrate the success of farmers in the state and at the beginning, it used to take place at Panagarh and later it was shifted to its permanent venue at Mati Tirtha.