'Farm sector in Bengal saw significant growth'

New delhi/kolkata: Despite adversities posed by COVID-19 pandemic, the farm sector in Bengal had shown appreciable growth said Union Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The productivity of rice, maize, foodgrains and pulses registered an increase of 1.2 per cent, 8.1 per cent, 2.3 per cent and 19.34 per cent, respectively between the period 2018-19 and 2020-21, he said in a written reply to the Lower House.

During the last three years (2019-2021), a total of 84 field crops varieties were developed and released for Bengal. These include 31 varieties of cereals; 23 of oilseeds; 14 of pulses; 9 of fiber; 4 of forages and 3 of sugarcane, he added.

Tomar informed the House that agricultural research institutes/ centres in Bengal had undertaken research for the development in various areas like field crops, disease diagnosis and development of vaccines for animals, poultry and fisheries sectors, development of ergonomically improved tools and equipment and women-friendly tools and machineries, etc.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has established four research institutes and nine regional research stations in Bengal. These institutes are catering to the agricultural technology needs of Bengal besides other parts of the country. In addition, at district level, 23 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) have also been established in Bengal for training and demonstration of the technologies developed by ICAR, he added.