Latest News | WB Acheives Target of Sowing Kharif Paddy Despite Cyclone Yaas, Floods
Get latest articles and stories on Latest News at LatestLY. West Bengal has acheived the target of sowing kharif paddy this season despite the devastation caused by Cyclone Yaas and the back-to-back floods due to the welfare schemes of the state government for farmers, a government official said on Tuesday.
Kolkata, Oct 19 (PTI) West Bengal has acheived the target of sowing kharif paddy this season despite the devastation caused by Cyclone Yaas and the back-to-back floods due to the welfare schemes of the state government for farmers, a government official said on Tuesday.
Also Read | Kim Seon-ho, Soo Ye-Ji, Ji-Soo: Five Kdrama Actors Who Courted Shocking Controversies.
Schemes like Krishak Bandhu (Farmers' friend) and Kisan Credit Cards played a pivotal role in the matter. The state had not only released the first instalment of the scheme in June but has also provided funds to compensate farmers affected by cyclone or floods, he said.
These steps by the state government had earned the confidence of the farmers who cultivated their land despite the challenges they faced due to the natural calamities.
“We had set a target of 42.06 lakh hectares for kharif cultivation this year and have achieved 100.80 per cent. It is definitely a great success for us in a year when we faced natural calamities like cyclones, heavy rainfall and floods,” he told PTI.
“Around 80 per cent of the over 70 lakh farmers in the state are covered under Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme which helps them in getting loans from banks. Not only this, their crops are also insured automatically. That is the reason why farmers who faced a number of natural calamities keep on cultivating their lands,” he said.
The achievement, he said, is very crucial in terms of the state's requirement of paddy for its schemes like 'Khadyasathi' to provide basic food grains to the people at a subsidised rate.
Bengal requires around 155 lakh tons of paddy for consumption and its average production is nearly 165 lakh tons, officials said.
(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)