Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey has said that till now only standard agricultural loans have been waived. Under this, loans of those farmers have been waived who have been paying regular loans. Now soon the loans of those farmers will also be waived, whose account has become NPA, she added.

Tirkey said that he has talked to Chief Minister Hemant Soren in this regard and an agreement has been reached. Apart from this, he also announced many future schemes. She said that the department will now focus on the construction of small cold storages and will soon get the five thousand metric ton cold storage under process in the remaining four districts of the state, Khunti, Ramgarh, Dhanbad and Bokaro.

The minister said that farmers are not getting much benefit from big cold storages because farmers are not able to take their produce to cold storages as they are located far away. She was responding to the discussion in the House on Thursday on the grant demands of the Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department. She said that changes will also be made in the policies of goat and sheep distribution according to the need of the area, for example, in Palamu there is a demand for sheep distribution instead of goat.

The Agriculture Minister said that there is an abundance of different types of agricultural products in different districts of the state. "For example, there is more Mahua in Khunti. On this basis, farmers will be given patronage in districts according to their product. So that the farmers there can get benefits in its production and marketing," she said.

Tirkey said that marginal farmers mainly face four types of problems. "Seeds should be available on time. If seeds are available, then rain should also be available on time. Where should we get loans for agriculture? Then when the product is ready, it should get a good price and market. The department is working with special focus on these four subjects," she said.

The Agriculture Minister listed many achievements of her department. She said that in 2020, where 1.30 lakh liters of milk was produced per day, today it has increased to 2.50 lakh liters per day. "There has been an increase of 10 percent in fish production and seven percent in animal husbandry. Now 34-36 percent of farmers are being provided seeds on time. Except for the year 2024, in which the code of conduct was in force due to the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. 16 lakh soil cards were distributed," she said.