KOLKATA: Bihar’s Agriculture minister Kumar Sarvjeet has expressed his keenness in following the method of paddy cultivation practised in Bengal to augment production in his state.
The Sarvjeet met his counterpart in Bengal Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay at Nabanna on Monday late afternoon and in a meeting that lasted for nearly 90 minutes enquired about the process of sowing paddy seeds and following procedures for healthy growth of paddy.Bengal happens to be the leading producer of paddy in the country.“The benefits that are being provided to our farmers by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are undoubtedly the best in the country. He learnt about them and jotted down the salient features of such benefits, including Krishak Bandhu crop insurance, death benefits, pension to the farmers among others. He also learnt about our custom hiring centres (CHC) through which modern machines are being provided to farmers for cultivation at subsidised rates,“ Chattopadhyay said.
In the last two-and-half-year, Rs 9226 crore have been provided to farmers under crop insurance. This year more than 2500 CHCs have already been set up.Sarvjeet told Chattopadhyay that a drought-like situation on one side of the river and a flood-like situation on another side is a major challenge being faced in agriculture in Bihar. However, mushroom cultivation and maize cultivation in Bihar is on the higher side.“He has expressed his interest to have the exchange of the best practices of agriculture between the two states for mutual benefit and I have also agreed on that. So we are hopeful of more interactions in the days to come,” a senior official of the state Agriculture department present in the meeting said.