Agriculture Minister P. Prasad said here on Monday that the State government would use the ₹1,400 crore received in assistance from World Bank to help Krishibhavans (agricultural offices) identify and launch value-added products.
The Minister was speaking at the inauguration of a pokkali rice harvest festival organised by Kadamakudy panchayat and the Kadamakudy-Varappuzha Jaiva (organic) Cooperative. The Minister said a product would be identified by each Krishibhavan, which would then work to develop a value-added product from produce that dominates the area.
Mr. Prasad pointed to the strength of a panchayat like Kadamakudy, which could bring out value-added products from pokkali rice as the unique rice variety is widely cultivated in the panchayat. There were 1,041 Krishibhavans in the State, and each of them would be empowered to look into strategies for developing value-added products and marketing them, the Minister said.
Krishibhavans were launched in the State in 1987 to act as the eyes and ears of the department at the field level. They are involved in drawing up and implementing strategies to increase production of both food and cash crops. Krishibhavans help farmers adopt scientific cultivation methods, assist them to adopt plant and crop protection measures, and provide subsidies periodically announced by the government. Each Krishibhavan at the panchayat level is headed by an officer (Krishi officer) who is supported by two assistants.
Value-addition in farm produce is one of the focus areas of the government. Krishi Darshan, a one-to-one interaction programme between the Minister of Agriculture and senior and field-level officials to address complaints and identify potential areas, will be launched soon.
The Krishi Darshan programme will be spread over three days during which the Minister and officials along with farmers will visit fields. A home in each block will also be visited by the Minister and his team as part of ‘Njangalum Krishiyilekku’, a mission-mode programme to boost farming and increase farmers’ income.
