Patna: The state government will give Rs 6,000 as input subsidy to those who opt for organic farming, but it will be in the form of virtual money that cannot be withdrawn from the bank accounts.

Instead, the money would be transferred to the bank accounts of registered dealers from whom farmers buy inputs such as organic seeds, organic fertilisers and organic pesticides.

"We are using this method of subsidy input for the first time and a well-designed system has been developed to monitor its progress," a senior official in the agriculture department said on Sunday.

He also pointed out that the money would automatically come back to the department account in case the farmer does not use it in the stipulated time.

"As the subsidy it being issued in the Rabi crop season, the cut-off date for its use would tentatively be April-end," added the official.

A total of 20,000 farmers have to be selected under the project in the current fiscal. State agriculture minister Prem Kumar has directed field officials to complete the selection process by November 30.

Every selected farmer will be provided an ID number and the farmer's bank account details will be collected. Once the virtual fund is transferred to the farmer's account, SMS will be sent informing the farmer about availability of the virtual subsidy money.

Based on their ID number, farmers will have to buy the input items from designated shops which too will be registered with the agriculture department. The registered shop would verify the availability of subsidy money and identity of the farmer on the basis of the number and then provide the items. The details will go to the department and after due verification, the money will be transferred from the farmer's account to that of the dealer.

"This idea was devised and the mechanism finalised as both chief minister Nitish Kumar and department minister Prem Kumar were of the opinion that delay in delivery of input subsidy causes problems for the farmers," the department official said.

The agriculture department will first implement the project on a pilot basis in four districts in the current fiscal: Patna, Nalanda, Vaishali and Samastipur.

"As the project targets to cover 20,00 farmers this year, organic cultivation of vegetables with input subsidy scheme is likely to be undertaken on around 6,000 acres of land, and the department has earmarked Rs 12 crore for it," said the official.