Agriculture plays an important role in GDP growth: Minister Atul Bora

 ‘Steps taken to keep climate change and other odds at bay’

 Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The rapid climate change, the population boom, and the soil losing its fertility pose a challenge for the agriculture sector in Assam, despite the agriculture sector playing an important role in the GDP growth of the state.

State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora said this in his reply to the debate on the cut motion moved against the Agriculture Department. He said, “To address the challenges, the State Government has taken several measures, including increasing double-cropping areas, fixing MSP (minimum support prices), boosting scientific cultivation through the use of modern technology, widening coverage of irrigation facilities, etc.”

Bora said, “Apart from these, the implementation of various central and state government schemes benefits the farmers in various ways. We have targeted 10 lakh hectares of land for double cropping through the area expansion scheme of the World Bank. The MSPs fixed by the state government for paddy, mustard seeds, millet, etc. have helped farmers get remunerative prices for their produce. Businessmen have started to buy such produce at rates higher than MSPs, making farmers more drawn to cultivation. The increase in the export of agricultural products has also drawn the youth towards cultivation. To keep the adverse effects of climate change at bay, the government is holding training on scientific cultivation with experts from national and international institutions. Such institutions include the International Rice Research Institute, the Indian Institute of Maize Research, the Directorate of Rapeseed, Mustard Research, and Training, and the Assam Millet Mission for the expansion of millet cultivation, among others. Farmers have got tractors, power tillers, rotavators, sprays, etc.”

He said, “We give flood-resistant paddy seeds like Ranjit Sub-1, Bahadur Sub-1, Bina 11, etc. to farmers in flood-affected areas. Likewise, in drought-hit areas, the department has given lDRR 452 varieties of seeds.”

The minister further said that the government is developing 100 markets (bazaars) under Project APART (Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project). We have 50 cold storage facilities with 100 MT storage capacity each and one with 200 MT storage capacity. The government also has some mini-cold storage facilities in the pipeline, he said.

Speaking for the cut motion, Congress MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed said, “If agriculture and irrigation departments don’t work in tandem, the development of agriculture will continue to elude the state.”

Bharat Narah of the Congress wanted to know the reasons behind the government failing to achieve the procurement target of paddy through government agencies by 45 percent last year.

Mujibur Rahman of the AIUDF said that the farmers of the state do not get the benefits of schemes. “The government should provide more facilities in the agriculture-based areas. However, that is not happening in the state,” he said.

Bhaskar Baruah of the Congress said, “The need of the hour is field visits by agriculture scientists to ascertain the quality of lands and suitable crops to be grown there for better yield.” He expressed concern over the declining exports of tea from the state, which may lead to the closure of the tea gardens.

Durgadas Boro of the BPF said that the government needs to stop the tendency to convert agricultural lands for other purposes. Aminul Islam (junior) of the AIUDF said that the lack of proper planning leads to the underdevelopment of the agriculture sector in the state.

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