Food production up in eastern India

Production from foodgrain deficit eastern region of the country is estimated to be 1,032 tonnes, an increase of 11.9 percent over last year, due to the Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India (BGREI) initiative of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched in 2010-11, said an official statement Friday.

Rice production from the region too is estimated at 562.6 tonnes, an increase of 19.8 percent over last year, against an all India increase of seven percent, said the statement.

The BGREI is a sub-scheme of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVYJ ) with an outlay of Rs.400 crore in the eastern region that includes Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The programme gained momentum in 2011-12 with the focus on rice and wheat only and strategic interventions relating to crop production, water harvesting and recycling, asset building and site specific activities needed for improving the agronomy-adopting cluster approach aimed at enhancing the productivity per unit area and the income of the farmers, said officials.

The focus now will be to consolidate the gains during the 12th Plan, they added.