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Bhubaneswar, June 13: With the monsoon hitting the state’s shores today, chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced a package for farmers that includes revamping of agriculture extension system.
The local Met office today confirmed that the south-west monsoons have reached the coastal town of Balasore, where 47mm rain lashed in most parts of the district, in the afternoon.
“Monsoon rains will start in other parts of Orissa by tomorrow. Rain or thundershowers are also likely at many places in Orissa, while there will be heavy rain over northern Orissa,” said a weather official.
Rains also lashed Bhubaneswar soon after Naveen polished up his agri-package. In it, he stressed on revamping the extension system, so that improved varieties of seeds and other inputs such as fertiliser, pesticides and credit can reach the farmer easily.
Director of agriculture and food production Arabinda Padhee said that sale centres at each gram panchayat will be started soon. So far, more than 1,000 such centres were opened during 2007-08. However, 4,106 more gram panchayats would now be covered in the programme.
Under the seed village programme, 5lakh quintal of quality foundation and certified seeds will be produced in the state by 2008-09 to increase the seed-replacement rate, Padhee added.
The present seed-production figure stands at 2-lakh quintal per year. The seed trading would be carried out through pani panchayats (irrigation associations) apart from the departmental sales centres.
Soil testing facilities will be installed at each block and soil health cards would be issued to interested farmers, Padhee added.
Finally, the state decided to reschedule loans of 4.88 lakh farmers, who have been unable to repay their crop loans. Of them, 2.78 lakh defaulter farmers have already been disbursed fresh loan to repay the debt.
