Patna,(BiharTimes): Bihar registered 30 per cent growth in agricultural production in the financial year 2013-14 and is at number one position in the eastern region, where the then Manmohan Singh government had launched the Second Green Revolution (SGR).

Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are at the second and third positions respectively.

Ironically, this good thing about Bihar was disclosed by the Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh in Patna on Sunday, though he did not give any credit to the then UPA government or the JD(U) government here.

Talking to the media the minister said that Bihar had a total cropped area of 52 lakh hectares and it produced around 151 lakh tonnes of foodgrains.

Though Bihar was at the second position on average agricultural productivity after West Bengal, yet it had the capacity to become number one, the minister hoped.

He said the central government had included all 38 districts of the state under National Food Security Mission to increase pulses and oilseeds production.

According to him currently states like Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, West Bengal and Odisha are producing 730 lakh tonnes of foodgrain, 32 lakh tonnes of pulses and 18.5 lakh tonnes of oilseeds. SGR would double these figures.

Radha Mohan Singh said the central government had approved Rs 2,828 crore to bring about Second Green Revolution in the eastern region.

He said the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and other such institutions are currently engaged in developing better seeds. They have also developed integrated agriculture models, which are providing Rs one lakh to 1.5 lakh profit per acre to the farmers.

As reported earlier too focus has been given on mechanization of agriculture, developing better seeds and integrated agricultural system, seed replacement, soil management as well as supply of electricity to farmers by the state governments.

The geographical area of the estern region is just 22 per cent of the country with 34 per cent of the country’s population and 33 per cent of animals.

About one-third of the nation’s tribal population also live in this region.