The farmers in Chhattisgarh will be made available drip irrigation systems, sprinklers and other farm implements on easy loan terms soon.
The State Agriculture Department is likely to follow the Gujarat model of distributing farm equipment from August onwards.
A MoU was signed between the Chhattisgarh Agriculture and Seeds Development Corporation and Gujarat Green Revolution Company limited in the presence of Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal recently. The Minister said the State had been making efforts to improve the conditions of farmers and farming activity. The farmers can avail of the online facility to obtain sprinklers and drip equipment.
Water is very precious and this method of farming will help in utilising every drop of water. High-grade equipment is the need of the hour for top quality agriculture, he said.
The farmers can avail of the latest farm implements from the registered firms Online. The drip irrigation and sprinklers implements will also be insured, Agrawal said.
The State Agriculture Department has decided to continue with the various schemes of drip irrigation, sprinkler and self-driven farming equipments and begin the new schemes resembling Gujarat’s pattern for the same from August onwards.
A circular regarding the information has been released by the Department of Agriculture and Biotechnology to the Directors of Agriculture and Horticulture departments.
Also, the circular has been sent to the Managing Director of Chhattisgarh Seed and Agricultural Development Corporation.
State Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal had stated earlier that the Government will follow the Gujarat pattern for the new system. Presently, the State government is inquiring to commence the system with the support of Gujarat Green Revolution Company limited. The ongoing process will take around three months for the implementation, said the Minister.
The circular regarding the new system was released by the Agriculture Department on March 9. He informed about the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture which manages the On-Farm Water Management. It also covers the state funded micro irrigation schemes. Agrawal added the farmers are being provided irrigation pumps under the Shakambari Irrigation Scheme.
Notably, State Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Brijmohan Agrawal on April 4 this year had stated that micro irrigation projects have been fulfilling irrigation needs of far-flung areas of the State.
He had urged the Centre to provide funds for big, medium and micro irrigation projects.
Agrawal was addressing the four-day long India water week at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. He said that over 1.5 lakh hectares of land could get irrigation facility through micro irrigation projects in Chhattisgarh and demanded Rs800 crore from the Centre for development of micro irrigation projects.The Minister further said that budget in Chhattisgarh has been increased from 23 per cent to 34.76 per cent for ensuring development of water resources in the State.
Notably, Chhattisgarh is among 13 States which had been mentioned in the Economic Survey report 2015-16 as a success story on use of drip irrigation by farmers on their lands.
The results from an impact evaluation of National Mission on Micro Irrigation of the Union Ministry of Agriculture conducted in 64 districts of 13 States mainly Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Mahar-ashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, TN, Sikkim, UP and Uttarakhand are revealing on the benefits of drip irrigation, according to the survey report.