Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar launched an “agriculture according to the climate” programme on Monday in which multiple crops would be cultivated simultaneously throughout the year in a bid to increase the income of the farmers.

Bihar has become the first state implement such a scheme. It has been prepared after consultation with scientists from various institutions like the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Borlaug Institute for South Asia, Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University, Bihar Agriculture University and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The new format of agriculture to factor in the impact of climate change on crops and farming as well as the ways to deal with it comes after a successful pilot project in eight of Bihar’s 38 districts that was started last year.

“Around 76 per cent population of Bihar is dependent on agriculture for livelihood, but floods and droughts are a constant fixture in the state. Farmers will benefit much if they adopt ‘agriculture according to the climate’ because it will cut down the cost and increase the profit,” Nitish said after launching the programme in Patna.

Nitish said that agriculture scientists will adopt five villages in every district to showcase the programme and educate the farmers. Crop residue management is an integral part of the scheme.

Nitish said that he had discussed its concept with CIMMYT director general Martin Kropff at a meeting in 2018 after seeing that three crops were being simultaneously grown at a farm at the Borlaug Institute for South Asia at Pusa and fresh crops were being sown immediately after harvesting.

“We intend to take the ‘agriculture according to climate’ programme to every farmer in the state,” Nitish said.

Expressing worry over the fast-catching trend of burning the crop residue in agricultural fields by the farmers, the chief minister pointed out that it “started from Punjab, entered Bihar through Rohtas and Kaimur districts and has now spread all over the state”.

Nitish directed chief secretary Deepak Kumar to get an aerial survey done with the help of agriculture department officials and make the farmers aware about the pernicious effects of burning crop residue in the fields.

He also asked the officials to ensure that information about various machines that do not leave crop residue in the fields is disseminated among the farmers along with the schemes under which the government is providing 75 to 80 per cent subsidy for buying them.

The agriculture department has already started blacklisting the farmers who are caught burning “parali” or crop residue in their fields. Such people will not be able to get benefits of various grants and subsidies provided by the state government from time to time for various purposes.