Centre releases Rs 6,500 crore for separate agri feeder for irrigation: Sushil Kumar Modi

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said that the central government has released Rs 6,500 crore for laying out separate feeder for agriculture sector for the purpose of irrigation in Bihar.

The fund has been released under Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana.

The tender process for the work has also been completed in December last year, Sushil Modi said asserting "electricity will be provided to every field (through separate feeder) by the end of December next year (2019) after which farmers' dependency on diesel would be reduced for irrigating lands."

Sushil Modi, who also holds finance portfolio, said this while inaugurating a four day state level farm mechanisation fair organised at Gandhi Maidan here.

The power would be supplied to farm land through a separate and dedicated agri feeder which has been also mentioned in the second (2012-17) and third agriculture road map (2017-22) launched by President Ram Nath Kovind in November 2017 in the state capital.

The Dy CM said that the state government has taken a decision to form 'vegetable processing and preservation cooperative federation' on the lines of milk cooperative federation in the state.

Stating that Bihar ranks third in vegetable production in the country, Sushil Modi said that primary vegetable cooperative society has been registered in 83 blocks of five districts of Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Nalanda and
Patna in order to boost vegetable production and processing.

Under operation green, the central government has started a scheme to preserve tomato, onion and potato, he said adding that states like Bihar would be the beneficiary.

Farm mechanisation has to be promoted if farmers' income has to be increased by reducing the cost of production, he said adding that farmers, who will go for farm mechanisation, will not have to face any problems in future.

Assuring ryot farmers, Dy CM said that both the central and state government would ensure an arrangement where in share-croppers would also get the benefits of grants under various government schemes. On the recommendations of ward council members in gram panchayat, more than 45 percent of paddy has been procured from share-cropper farmers.