Government gears up for next crop season

BHUBANESWAR: With nearly three lakh hectares of crop area affected by the floods and prospects revival of kharif crop grim, the State Government has planned for advanced rabi crop in the affected areas. The Agriculture Department has increased the indent for procurement of more seeds of mung, biri and ground nuts keeping in mind the demand for seeds after the flood. The department is planning to supply two lakh quintals of seeds under pulse programme even as the demand is much more. Though there is demand for paddy seeds for short duration crops from some areas of the costal district, it will not be feasible to grow paddy any more. The short duration paddy will take atleast 90 days to ripen. As many areas are in the coastal districts still inundated with flood water, the possibility of growing short duration paddy will not be wise, said a senior officer of the department.  As many areas of the coastal districts are suitable for ground nut cultivation, the  department is planning to provide more ground nut seeds to the farmers with other  agricultural inputs. Besides, growing mung and biri will be beneficial to the farmers as the areas inundated by flood water have fertile soil, the official said. There is adequate stock of chemical fertilisers in the State and there will be no problem to meet the fertiliser demand, the sources added. The Government has requested the Centre to provide agricultural input subsidy to the tune of `90 crore to assist the affected farmers.