Patna, August 18 (ABN) Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said at the 97th Annual General Meeting of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) held in Delhi that the Bihar government is working on priority basis to connect the youth receiving agricultural education with business activities in the agricultural sector and the support of the central government is needed to speed up the process.
According to information released by the Agriculture Department of the Bihar Government, Mr. Sinha attended a meeting held in New Delhi today along with the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the Agriculture Ministers of various states. He presented his views on important issues related to Bihar including agricultural research, modern technology, natural farming, seed production, increase in farmers' income and youth involvement in agriculture sector.
Agriculture Minister Mr. Sinha highlighted the agricultural conditions of Bihar and the needs of farmers in the meeting and said that by linking the state's agricultural potential with modern technology, scientific research, processing of agricultural produce and agricultural exports, new opportunities for employment and income are being created for farmers. Despite scant rains in Bihar, more than 93 per cent paddy harvesting has been completed and progress is being made rapidly towards achieving the set target.
Mr. Sinha particularly emphasized the need for specialized research at the ICAR level to develop improved varieties of Makhana, scientific production techniques, agricultural mechanization, value addition and increasing export potential. He said that joint efforts of research institutes, central and state governments are necessary to link the specific agricultural production of Bihar with the global market.
The Agriculture Minister also laid special emphasis on developing crop varieties that can be produced in a short period of time as per the climatic conditions, keeping in mind the natural problems like floods and droughts in Bihar. Along with this, he also emphasized the need to bring digital agriculture techniques to small and marginal farmers and connect youth and women farmers with modern agricultural technology.