Bihar Govt to Release Its 4th Agriculture Road Map on April 1

The Agriculture department has scheduled a conference of farmers and agriculturists from across the state on February 21 in Patna prior to the launch, where feedback will be collected regarding new initiatives that must be taken and included in the upcoming road map for five years (2023-28).

"The third edition of the road map (2017-2022), which was extended until March 31, 2023 due to the pandemic, currently serves as the state's guide for agricultural policies. The exercise of gathering feedback from various stakeholders, including scientists and experts, has been ongoing for the past few months, according to agriculture secretary N Saravana Kumar.

He stated, "We are working on a number of new initiatives to strengthen the farm sector. The new road map will focus on increasing the production of millets, oil seeds, and pulses with the aim of giving farmers the option of crop diversification and boosting their income."

"Another focus area would be digital agriculture, which would give farmers the most recent weather updates and IT-related marketing support. The use of nano urea by drones would also be a major component of the road map. It is a novel idea," an official claimed.

Nano urea, a type of fertilizer, is less expensive and needed in smaller amounts than granular fertilizer. A focus on agricultural marketing will also be present. A major focus will also be on increasing food grain production, as per secretary.

Two years after Nitish Kumar became the chief minister of Bihar, the first edition of the agricultural road map was introduced in 2007. Food grain production in the state has increased steadily over the past few years. It was 163.80 lakh metric tonnes in 2019–20, and it increased to 179.52 lakh metric tonnes in 2020–21. The state's food production in 2021–2022 was 184.86 lakh metric tonnes.