Patna: Farmers of scores of districts are running short of seeds of various crops for the upcoming season, even as the state agriculture department claimed to have supplied 76573.73 quintals of seeds to various district agriculture offices (DAOs).
Sowing of rabi crops has started in the state, but till now farmers are not getting seeds even after seed allocation in 20 districts. Wheat, gram, lentil, pea, linseed, mustard and lentil seeds are not being distributed in 20 districts including Jehanabad, Sheikhpura, Begusarai, Munger, Arwal, Aurangabad, Buxar, Kaimur, Lakhisarai, Muzaffarpur, Nawada, Patna, Saran, Siwan, Vaishali, West Champaran. This year the target is to distribute 4,70,510 quintal of seeds.
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According to the agriculture department officials, only 3668.5 quintals of seeds have been distributed among farmers against allocated 76573.73 quintals of seeds, supplied to the DAO by Bihar State Seed Corporation till now. The agriculture department has decided to deliver wheat seeds by November 5. Whereas 5342.6 quintals of wheat seeds have been given to the DAO. Agriculture minister Mangal Pandey said that seeds should be made available to farmers as soon as possible, otherwise action will be taken against the responsible officers.
A target of 39.806 lakh hectares has been set for the cultivation of various crops in the Rabi season. He gave this information while inaugurating the state level Rabi workshop under Rabi Mahabhiyan on Wednesday. He said that grants are being provided under various schemes of the department to double the income of farmers. He said that the target for the coverage area of Rabi crops has been set at 39,806 lakh hectares, in which wheat is 26.147 lakh hectares, maize is 8.026 lakh hectares, barley is 0.182 lakh hectares and the total coverage area of pulses is 5.442 lakh hectares. Apart from this, oilseed crops will be produced in 2.371 lakh hectares, which includes 2.120 lakh hectares of mustard and 0.223 lakh hectares of linseed.
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According to the agriculture department, 362302.8 quintals of wheat seed, 34844.16 quintals of gram, 58588 quintals of lentils, 10000 quintals of peas, 950 quintals of linseed and 3825 quintals of mustard/rapeseed, i.e. a total of 4,70,510 quintals of seeds is required. The department has claimed that against this target, 76573.67 quintals of seeds have been supplied so far. The distribution of seeds of pulses and oilseeds is going on. Along with this, the distribution of wheat seeds is also being started. So far, subsidy amount of about ₹225 crore has been spent on the distribution of seeds of various crops.
Pandey claimed that sufficient quantity of seeds is available in the state under special scheme from the Centre to increase the production of pulses within the country. For this, the Government of India has increased the minimum support price (MSP) of Rabi season crops from ₹150 to ₹300 per quintal.
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At a workshop on Rabi crop production, agriculture secretary Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said the department was laying special emphasis on beekeeping along with peas and mustard along with maize this cropping season. Production of pulses and oilseeds has to be increased and farmers have to be encouraged to sow wheat 15 days in advance for better yield.
