Patna: Agriculture minister Prem Kumar has decided to collect feedback from farmers over works related to the third agriculture roadmap that President Ram Nath Kovind launched on Thursday.

The minister has decided to set up a dedicated helpline in his cell at which farmers can share their grievances with the minister directly.

"I am going to undertake a tour of the whole state commencing from December this year and in the first phase I will visit all the divisional headquarters with an aim to cover them within a month," Kumar told The Telegraph on Friday.

There are nine divisional headquarters in Bihar and the minister will be holding meetings with the farmers at the divisional level to collect feedback from them in the first phase. From January onwards, he will he holding similar meetings with farmers in all the 38 districts and this phase will last for two months.

"My visits are not going to stop at the district headquarters as followed by this phase I will undertake tours of all the 534 blocks of the state with an aim of covering all of them by the end of 2018," Kumar said.

The minister has set a similar task for his officials as well and a detailed roster is being prepared right from joint directors to coordinators for their presence among the farmers, and non-adherence would attract disciplinary action.

"I am committed to end the red tape in my department and hence have decided to set up a helpline number in my cell so that farmers facing any trouble due to non-cooperative attitude of officials can share their problems directly with me," the minister said.

Details of the helpline would be advertised once it is set up, he promised. Sanjiv Kumar, a progressive farmer from Hajipur in Vaishali district, welcomed the minister's initiative.

"If farmers have the opportunity to have direct interaction with the minister, many problems would be solved as field officials create troubles for personal gains and don't allow the benefits of schemes to reach the target group," Sanjiv said. A month ago, Sanjiv had met the agriculture minister and complained that field officials were demanding Rs 1 lakh bribe for issuing seed licences to him and other such farmers who prepare seeds of vegetables.

"When we brought this matter to the knowledge of the minister he took quick action and the licence application was processed without any bribe," Sanjiv said. "He had also deputed a senior official to oversee our case." Ranvijay Kumar, a farmer from Banjariya in East Champaran district, also welcomed the move of the minister.

"Farmers are simple people," Ranvijay said. "If the minister would listen to their grievances directly many problems would be addressed automatically."