Eastern states asked to speed up agri-schemes implementation

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today asked eastern states to speed up implementation of various farm schemes in the region for a second Green Revolution.
"There is need to rehabilitate the water-logged areas in the region which accounts for 41 lakh hectare through integrated farming system approach," Singh said.
He was addressing a steering committee meeting of Second Green Revolution (SGR) at ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region in Patna.
The minister said the eastern region has the potential to achieve significant production in milk, meat, pulses and oilseeds.
He asked the eastern states "to speed up the agriculture development programme in the region so that the Prime Minister's dream of 'minimum government, maximum governance' could be achieved," an official statement said.

The ICAR Research Complex has been given the responsibility of reviewing and implementing agricultural activities to bring a second Green Revolution in the eastern region.

"The coordination and convergence between different agricultural activities, being implemented in different eastern states will expedite the overall agricultural development in the region," the minister added.
Singh also asked agri-scientists to mitigate the bad effects of climate change saying that in near future change in climate will "adversely affect" the farm production as a whole.
In this situation, there is need to develop and popularise climate smart technologies like short duration crops, he added.
Presently, the eastern states are contributing 50 per cent, 45 per cent and 38 per cent towards the production of rice, vegetables and fish, respectively at the national level.

To achieve a second Green Revolution in the region, the centre has set up three committees.