Minister Biswajit launches DBT scheme for farmers
Farmers assured adequate supply of fertiliser, officials warned
Source: Chronicle News Service / DIPR
Imphal, June 10 2022:
Agriculture minister Th Biswajit launched Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for farmers under the Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) Phase-III (2020-2023) at his Secretariat office chamber on Friday.
A total amount of Rs 7,87,50,000 will be provided as assistance to 7000 registered farmers under MOVCDNER Phase-III (2020-23) implemented by the state's agriculture department.
Under Phase-III, there are 25,000 farmers of which 7,000 are registered under agriculture department and 18,000 under horticulture department.
Chief minister N Biren had launched the DBT scheme for 18,000 registered farmers for MOVCDNER Phase-III (2020-23) on May 5, 2022.Speaking at the launch function, minister Biswajit pointed out that in celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the government has been trying to give emphasis to farmers by providing assistance and benefits for which many schemes have been launched.
Stating that DBT has been implemented to bridge the gap in providing assistance directly to the beneficiaries, the minister said that the government has the accountability of good governance.
The assistance provided to the 700.0 beneficiaries is a particular fund for a particular purpose.
Making the scheme meaningful depends on the beneficiaries even though the assistance is a small amount, he opined.
Biswajit then stressed the need for organic crops to replace artificial products for a healthy society, adding that the government has been taking up steps to curb the challenges faced by the farmers in producing organic crops in the state.
The minister then appealed to stakeholders concerned to provide fertilisers to the farmers at the (subsidised) rate fixed by the government to produce higher yields.
Regarding issue of shortage of fertiliser, he said that if there is any negligence from the department, actions will be taken up against the erring officials.
Biswajit informed said that after held visit, fertilisers will be given to the farmers to sort out problems faced by the farmers.
Fertilisers will be provided to farmers irrespective of whether the farmer has land ownership or not, he added.
Biswajit then said that challenge faced by the farmers for marketing of Chak-hao and rice produce in the state will be solved as soon as there is sufficient production of the crops which can replace import from other states.
He further said that there are buyers for Chak-hao and steps are being taken up for marketing.
M Joy Singh, commissioner agriculture, said that the scheme will benefit the farmers for both on-farm and off-farm inputs for the first year in the 1st and 2nd instalments and on-farm inputs for the 2nd year in the 3rd instalments.
A sum of Rs 11,250 each will be transferred to the farmers' account in three instalments of Rs 3750 each.
He added that on-farm inputs are for creation of infrastructure such as compost pits, vermin-compost, liquid manure tanks, plant and bio-pesticide containers and purchasing of bio- fertilisers, bio-pesticides for the off-farm inputs.
It is worth mentioning that MOVCD-NER is a Central Sector Scheme, a sub-mission under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare for implementation in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, during the 12th plan period.
The scheme aims at development of certified organic production in a value chain mode to link growers with consumers and to support the development of entire value chain starting from inputs, seeds, certification, to the creation of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing marketing and brand building initiative.
N Gojendro, director of agriculture department, nodal officer MOVCDNER, officials and staff of agriculture department, and representatives of the farmer groups attended the launching function.
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