Agri dept to initiate district-level programme in bid to boost cultivation of alternate crops

Kolkata: The state Agriculture department is all set to initiate a district-level programme to "further encourage" farmers in taking up cultivation of alternate crops.

The stress will be on maize cultivation and the move comes after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave a clear instruction to take all necessary steps in this regard while addressing the district review meeting at Bankura.

Asish Banerjee, the state Agriculture minister, said: "Further steps will be taken up to encourage farmers to take up maize cultivation. Once again, teams comprising officials from the state Agriculture department and experts on the

same will be visiting various districts to make farmers aware about maize cultivation. The farmers will be provided with all necessary support to encourage them in taking up maize cultivation in more numbers."

After the change of guard in the state in 2011, the Mamata Banerjee government has taken several steps in ensuring that farmers take up cultivation of alternate crops.

Bengal has also come up as a major state in terms of production of alternate crops that include maize. Now, the state Agriculture department will pay another round of visit to maize cultivating districts, to ensure that more and more farmers take up the same, said a senior official of the state government.

In a bid to create awareness on maize cultivation, a convention was also held a few months ago at Rampurhat in Birbhum district. Officials and other concerned people from 12 districts had attended the convention, in which there were thorough discussions on various aspects of maize cultivation.

According to the state Agriculture minister, the convention had helped in knowledge sharing among the farmers interested in taking up alternate farming. The state Agriculture department has also organised Krishi Mela in different districts to make people aware about maize farming.

The initiatives taken by the state government in encouraging farmers for maize cultivation has ensured a manifold growth in the same. Maize cultivation has gone up in many districts, both in North and South Bengal.

In 2010-11, there was cultivation of around 3.52 lakh metric tonnes of maize, while it crossed 13 lakh metric tonnes in the next few years with a series of steps taken after the change of guard in the state.

With increase in maize

cultivation in Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government helped farmers get machineries at subsidised rate for husking of corn.