Call centres for farmers in Bihar

Patna, Mar 8 (UNI) With a view to ensuring speedy development in the farm sector, the Bihar government today announced formation of a ''Farm Call Centre''' for enabling farmers to get immediate solution to their problems.

Replying to a debate on the budgetary demands of the state Agriculture department worth Rs 195.66 crore in the state Assembly, state Water Resources Minister Ramashrya Prasad Singh said farmers could call on a particular toll free number and get suggestions from the agriculture scientists, stationed at the call centres.

He said another number was also available at the call centre for answering queries of farmers of the state. He said a state level committee had been constituted for supervising and suggesting ways for improvement in the functioning of the farm call centre.

Mr Singh said multi pronged approach was being applied for improvement in the farm sector, adding the government was emphasising on agriculture research and extension. He said optimum utilisation of grond water was another field which was attracting the government's attention to a great extent.

He said the state could not develop by suppressing cooperative movement, adding primary agriculture cooperative societies were dismantled during the previous regimes and the task of procurment of foodgrains was left to small agencies.

The Minister said cold storages, another important factor in the Agriculture development, also became dysfunctional over a period of time. He said similarly condition of agriculture farms in the state was in poor shape and their land had also been grabbed by others.

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