State News

Animal Husbandry And Dairying Minister, Mr. J.P. Dalal Said That State Government Has Directed The Concerned Department

24 September 2021, Chandigarh: Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister, Mr. J.P. Dalal said that State Government has directed the concerned Department to conduct special Girdawari to access crop damage caused due to ongoing rain showers in some parts of the State. To compensate the farmers on time, he said that the officials have been directed to complete the process of Girdawari at the earliest.

While interacting with media persons here at his residence today, he said that Mukhyamantri Bagwani Bima Yojana is the first scheme across the country which will provide insurance cover for horticulture crops in the State. The insurance scheme is applicable only for apple farmers in Himachal Pradesh, he added.

He expressed his gratitude to the Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal for approving such a scheme in the State. He said that the State government has been making sterling efforts to take welfare decisions for farmers and to encourage the farmers to work under risk free conditions. Moreover efforts have been made to connect the youth with the business of beekeeping, mushroom, milk processing, fisheries etc.

He said that 8 to 10 percent area is under cultivation of horticulture crops in the state and earlier there was no insurance scheme for horticulture crops. A total of 21 vegetables, fruits and spice crops will be covered under the scheme. Sometimes, farmers growing horticulture crops have to bear huge financial losses due to various factors. This scheme will compensate the farmer who will suffer the crop damage caused due to sudden outbreak of crop diseases, insect-pests infestation, unseasonal rainfall, hailstorms, drought and frost, etc.

Mr. Dalal said that the aim of this scheme is to encourage farmers to cultivate high-risk Horticulture Crops. This scheme covers insurance of Rs 30,000 for vegetables & spices and an insurance cover of Rs 40,000 for fruits. For this scheme, farmers will have to pay only 2.5 percent premium under which Rs 750 and Rs 1000 will be paid.

The Agriculture Minister said that the compensation survey and crop damage claim have been divided into four categories i.e. 25, 50, 75 and 100 percent. Farmers have to register their crop and area under crop cultivation on Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal. The benefits of compensation will be provided after conducting a survey, he added.

Mr. Dalal said that the government has also decided to provide modern laboratory, advance training, branding of honey etc. to the honey producing farmers and about 1000-1500 honey producing farmers will be encouraged for this business.

The Agriculture Minister said that the State Government has been planning to set up 5000 Har-Hith retail stores to encourage youth towards self-employment in the State. Stores will be set up over a space of 150 feet in rural areas. For this, a loan of Rs 3 lakh will be provided under the Mudra scheme, he added.

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He said that youth will get 10 percent profit on sale and consumers will get best quality daily-needs products at reasonable prices. To set up these stores, around 1250 applications have been received so far and agreements have been signed with 150 applicants. 71 Har-Hith stores will be opened on October 7, 2021, he added.

He said that soon around 2500 to 3000 farmers would be connected with fisheries  in the state. This will create self employment opportunities for 8000 youth. Besides this, subsidy is also being provided to the youth for opening poultry farms, fodder blocks, etc, he added.

The Agriculture Minister said that the government has prepared a plan to convert one lakh acres into cultivable land every year by draining the waterlogged areas. In this scheme, proper use of water will be ensured by draining out water with the help of pipeline. In this way, the government has set a target to make 10 lakh acres of land free from water logging. Besides this, emphasis is being laid on encouraging farmers from crop diversification to pulses, oilseeds and horticulture crops.

Mr. Dalal said that schemes like Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, Crop Residue Management, Soil Health Card, Pond Irrigation Scheme, Food Security Scheme, Biogas Gaushala Yojana, sprinkler irrigation are being implemented. Farmers are getting direct benefits of these schemes.