New Delhi: State agriculture minister Ram Kripal Yadav has urged the Centre to extend a special agricultural assistance package to Bihar, pressing for expanded procurement of key crops at minimum support prices (MSP) and greater funding support under central schemes.
At a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday chaired by the Union agriculture and farmers welfare minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ram Kripal Yadav submitted a memorandum outlining a set of demands aimed at strengthening Bihar’s farm sector and boosting farmers’ incomes.
The state minister thanked the Centre for approving MSP-based procurement of masur (red lentils) in Bihar for the first time, and pressed for similar procurement arrangements for gram (chickpeas), mustard and other oilseed crops. He also sought to position Bihar as a priority state for pulses and oilseed production, alongside enhanced allocations under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) and the Centre’s pulses self-sufficiency mission.
According to officials, the Union minister said the government was committed to agricultural development in Bihar and indicated that a special package for the state’s farm sector would be considered.
Yadav also informed the meeting that farmer IDs have now been generated for more than 47 lakh farmers in Bihar, with registration being carried out through a “mission mode” exercise involving agriculture coordinators and revenue department staff at organised camps across the state.
He further shared updated figures on fertiliser availability, stating that as of April 1 Bihar held stocks of 2.77 lakh metric tonnes of urea, 1.46 lakh metric tonnes of DAP, 2.11 lakh metric tonnes of NPK, 0.43 lakh metric tonnes of MOP and 1.02 lakh metric tonnes of SSP, adding that supplies were being continuously aligned with demand.
