Ranchi, Jan 24 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday laid the foundation stone for 14 rice mills across 10 districts and said 100 more facilities are required to meet demand for the agricultural product.

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The CM stated that his government has been working to strengthen infrastructure related to farming as procurement of huge quantity of rice is a challenge.

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The 14 mills will be set up at Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar, West Singhbhum, Khunti, Gumla, Simdega, Dhanbad, Bokaro and Godda.

"We are committed to create agriculture infrastructure. In absence of proper facilities at present, the government is not able to procure an adequate quantity of rice from farmers. We will set up these 14 mills soon so that growers get remunerative prices. At least 100 more such units are required," Soren said.

Around 70 per cent of the state's population depends on agriculture for livelihood, he said.

Soren also mentioned that the government has been buying the crop and has fixed the minimum support price for it but once the infrastructure is augmented, procurement will also be enhanced.

Jharkhand now has 80 rice mills.

"The total rice cultivation in the state is 50-60 lakh tonnes per year but only 15 lakh tonnes are sent to mills in absence of infrastructure," Soren said.

Apart from rice mills, the government is focusing on food processing units, dairy, animal husbandry and fishery, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)