"Agriculture sector is one way or another dependent on all these departments," an official said.

The chief minister's agriculture advisor Mangal Rai, former director general Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), is a special invitee to this cabinet. The first meeting of the agriculture cabinet is to take place Tuesday.

"All these departments will work with a single goal to develop the agriculture sector," the official said.

"It is not only a big news for the millions of farmers of Bihar, but beginning of turnaround for agriculture sector. This will help the state to achieve second green revolution," state Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh told IANS.

Singh said the Bihar government has given highest priority to the agriculture sector and increased its budgetary allocation from Rs.25 crore to almost Rs.844 crore in 2011-12.

The news of a cabinet exclusively for the agriculture sector was cheered by the farmers.

"It appears that the Bihar government is turning its attention to agriculture sector," Mahavir Mahto, a farmer near Patna, said.

In the last five years, Nitish Kumar has repeatedly said that he wants to have one or two agriculture product from the state on the plate of every Indian in the coming years.

The state government chalked out a roadmap for the agriculture sector in 2008.

"Several steps, including promotion of modern techniques of farming, organic farming, use of improved seeds among others, have been taken in last two-three years but it is still a long way to go in developing the agriculture sector," an official of agriculture department said.

Atul Singh, an economist researcher in New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that Bihar's agriculture growth instead of going up has shown declining trend.

"It is a hard fact revealed by the government's own economic survey," Singh said.

According to the official data, against the national productivity average of 2 tonnes of rice per hectare, the state's rice productivity is about 1.5 tonnes per hectare.

In case of wheat, the state's productivity is 2.2 tonnes per hectare against the national average of 2.7 tonnes.

The state government holds repeated droughts and floods responsible for this poor production.

The state government admits on its official website that agriculture is the key to the overall development of the state economy.

Agriculture is the backbone of Bihar's economy, 81 percent of workforce, and generation of nearly 42 percent of the state domestic product, it says.

"Barring maize and pulses, productivity of various farm produce in Bihar is much below the national average. Though the area under cultivation is shrinking, there is tremendous scope for income generation, by improving productivity. Adverse climatic condition, like draught and floods, do play a role in decreasing products," the official website says.

Comment

comments...

An open letter to Chief Minister Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar Ji

First of all let me congratulate you for forming agriculture Cabinet for Farm sector. This will increase the number count of fancy schemes rolled out by Government of Bihar. As per the common perception of the people near and dear to you, it will bring green revolution in Bihar.
But let me tell you that I beg to differ, your intentions are good but still you will fail, as the agricultural development policy of Bihar has N number of flaws but I will be highlighting some major ones.
Absence of APMC Act:
For boosting production and productivity of Agri-produce, an efficient market is needed i.e. more number of buyers of agricultural produce, but unfortunately instead of modifying APMC act and increase the number of market yards with high tech facilities, APMC act has been repealed.
This has decreased the number of options available with the farmers and it will result in the following outcomes

• Farmers of Bihar will become laggards, as the market signals will have greater lag before it reaches them.
• Agri-Processing Industry will take a lot of time to develop, as the supply will be staggered and widely separated thus increasing the payback period of Agri-processors.

Low use of IT:
The use of IT in agriculture of Bihar is very low and there is a lot of information asymmetry about the programme/scheme among the intended beneficiary. This gives rise to rent seeking behavior.
I think, this problem can be tackled by documenting the major programmes and making it available in the form of CD in every Panchyat/Block.
Corrupt and Defunct Agricultural institution:
Rajendra Agricultural University, Department of Agriculture and Co-operation (DAC) Bihar, ATMA, Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s, Kisan Call centers and zonal research stations are sitting with ample human resource base, with loosely defined targets. They are enjoying their leisure time without showcasing the desired result.
I think this problem will be rectified by including performance appraisal system by the intended beneficiaries.
Poor flow of institutional credit
The flow of institutional credit to farmers for the purpose of farming is very low as most of the loans to priority sector are given for trucks, tempos and tractors etc.
The GoB should try to redefine priority sector, and ensure smooth flow of institutional credit to the farming community.

To conclude, I know a lot of queries, doubts and suggestion can be given on this as well, but believe me this will follow the Pareto’s 80-20 rule and you can see the desirable change within 3-4 years (gestation period) or else you can keep beating the bush by forming whatever you like.
Om Prakash Singh