Lagatar24 Desk
Ranchi, Jan 8: The Jharkhand government plans to develop 100 Krishi Pathshalas for farmers within the next three years to train the farmers in scientific methods on capacity development and perception. This move by the government will help in farming with modern farming techniques to increase agricultural production and increase the income of the farmers.
The state government has begun work on the plan to develop Krishak Pathshala and Birsa Village under Integrated Birsa Development Scheme in state agricultural fields, to increase crop production and productivity in the agriculture sector and to demonstrate advanced agricultural technology.
About 75 per cent of the state’s population resides in rural areas and is dependent on agriculture for its livelihood. Agriculture and allied sectors include crop production, livestock and fisheries etc. The state continues to be the major sub-sector in crop production with 54.20 per cent. Agriculture plays a significant role in generating employment and livelihood in the state’s economy. With the priority to give further impetus to this, the government will encourage farmers and help them improve their farming methods and skills.
Through Krishak Pathshala, the Department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries will train the farmers in scientific methods on capacity development and perception. Targeted convergence of schemes has been fixed between the Department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperation and other departments of the Government. These include the development of irrigation facilities by mulching technology in the cluster-based Birsa village and providing economic reinforcement to the beneficiary farmers through forwarding linkage service. Also, post-harvest infrastructure is to be provided, so that they produce can be kept safe.
It also includes making the farmers aware of the schemes of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperation Department and other government departments.
In the first phase of the model of Integrated Birsa Vikas Yojana, 17 farmers’ schools will be developed in different agricultural areas of the state. Then in the next three years, 100 such schools will be set up. In each school, three to five Birsa villages will be covered under a cluster approach.
In these schools, farmers of Birsa village will be trained in a scientific manner in groups of 50 -100 farmers per village under capacity development and sustainable farming. Supply chain, custom hearing centre and market linkage facility will be made available for the produced goods through these schools. All the schemes run by the government will be converged. The cluster-based mulching facility, deep irrigation, bowl, road, delivery pipe, submersible pump, carat and other storage facilities will be provided.
A specialist agency related to agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and fisheries will be impanelled by the Directorate of Agriculture for three years. Along with this, a 3-4 member state level PMU will be formed by the Directorate of Agriculture for three years. The work and responsibility will be given to the executive agency along with the PMU. For the successful establishment of Krishak Pathshala, various types of work which will be related to agriculture, livestock and fisheries etc., will be executed by the agencies. Through this training and capacity development of farmers, farmers and labourers of Birsa villages will be taken on remuneration and will be paid for the work done. This will include maintaining the farmer’s school in order and appointing the instructor as a technical expert from Birsa Agricultural University on a remunerative honorarium. Providing support for training programs and training materials and preparing plans for market linkage will also be a part of this.
The Directorate of Agriculture will constitute a 3-4 member state level PMU for three years, which will assist in the management and monitoring of all schemes, identification of executive organisations and their work, training programs and training materials by cooperating with executive institutions, Provision of market linkage for agricultural products, road map, action plan and strategy for all schemes, a timely implementation by coordinating with all directorates and departments, development of Birsa village through mulching and irrigation facilities by coordinating with rural haat, executive agency and Regular follow-up with the district officer, identification and selection of the site for infrastructure, coordination with the executive agency will conduct a survey for the selection of baseline farmer’s school in the project area.
For agriculture, livestock and fish production, agricultural work of high-value agricultural crops will be done in an area of 10 acres. Plantation of fruit trees will be done in an area of 7.5 acres. 50 goats, 25 pigs, 500 broiler chicks, 400 layer chicks, 500 ducks and 10 cows will be reared, for which sheds, floor, urine tank and fodder will be constructed. By adopting the technique of mulching, there will also be a system of micro-irrigation included. Arrangement of bowl shed delivery and submersible with a generator in Krishak Pathshala for irrigation, construction of 10000 square feet poly house, construction of 100 boxes for beekeeping, development of the capacity to produce 10 kg of mushroom per day, development of fish production in 2 acres area will be done.
Most of the farmers do farming by traditional method. It is necessary to develop the capacity of the farmers, under which they can do farming with modern farming techniques to increase the agricultural production and increase the income of the farmers. Krishak Pathshala will become a communication centre of this new farming culture.
