Agriculture secretary M.K Mandal releases the newsletter. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, May 12: Lack of a marketing network and poor technology has hit farmers hard.

Director-general of Administrative Training Institute (ATI) M.K. Mandal said: “The soil standard here is up to the mark. But lack of scientific information on part of peasants as to which type suits the particular crop has brought down the produce,” he said.

He was speaking on “New Dimensions of Agricultural Extension Management” at the Birsa Agriculture University here today.

Mandal advocated the need for a regular soil test for the farmers. “There should be a conducive communication between the farmers and agriculture scientists to apprise the former as to what should be cultivated in a particular soil. This will of course help improve the quality and quantity of agricultural produce,” he added.

Agriculture secretary Shiv Basant, who was also the chief guest on the occasion, released a newsletter — Sameti at a glance — of the State Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institute.

“Instead of compiling the advanced agricultural techniques developed for better farming in the libraries it should be made available to the farmers so that they can exploit maximum benefits from them,” he said adding that quality seeds should be given top priority.