The Minimum Support Price (MSP) of forest produce and vegetables of Jharkhand will be decided. The Agriculture Department is preparing to decide MSP for forest produce including vegetables. The Agriculture Department is discussing bringing forest produce like Mahua under the purview of MSP. However, this discussion is preliminary. This information was given by the state's Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey in Nepal House after the departmental review.
After taking oath as minister, in the second monthly review meeting, Shilpi Neha Tirkey took detailed information about the schemes run by the department. The Minister discussed the Action Taken Report regarding the schemes. During this, she looked angry about the work of VLW. VLW has been appointed by the Agriculture Department. Their salary is also paid from the Agriculture Department. But VLWs do more land work for Awas Yojana and MGNREGA.
Tirkey has instructed VLWs to work for the schemes of the Agriculture Department. She has said that very soon a state level seminar will be organized for VLWs and responsibilities will be assigned to them. During the review meeting, it also came to light that the schemes of the Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department are not reaching the needy beneficiaries. Only some special farmers are getting more than one scheme of the department. Agriculture Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey said that not a single application related to irrigation has been received in Mandar and Chanho. This is surprising. In fact, farmers do not even have the correct information about the department's scheme.
The minister said that a divisional level agricultural fair has been organized in Chanho on January 18. She instructed the officials to implement the government's schemes 100 per cent on the ground. She said that migration can be stopped by implementing the schemes on the ground. The minister said that Birsa Gram Pathshala Yojana is a good scheme. But the farmers could not get its benefits only because it remained confined to government papers.
