The Jharkhand government will open 100 Kisan Pathsalas (schools for farmers) across the state to provide training and other aid to farmers to help them maximise profit, chief minister Hemant Soren said on Friday after inaugurating the first such facility in Karra block of Khunti district.
“Around 80 per cent of the state’s population is dependent on agriculture. These centres are designed with an objective to help farmers diversify agriculture and maximise profits. The government is opening 100 such facilities across the state,” Soren told a gathering at Karra.
Officials said these schools would provide consultancy to farmers about alternate cropping and usage of modern technology, among other things.
“These centres would also function as Kisan Vikas Kendras, providing training, equipment and extra seed support,” officials said.
In an interaction with reporters last week, the chief minister had conceded that over 90 per cent of Jharkhand has been hit by drought this year and that the state government was in the process of competing the exercise to identify and get areas notified drought-hit by the Centre.
On Friday, CM Soren also laid foundation stone of development projects worth ₹124 crore in Khunti district, besides inaugurating projects worth ₹172 crore as part of mega outreach programme, Sarkar Aapke Dwar, officials said.
The 11-day first leg of the government’s outreach campaign would end on October 22. The second leg of the scheduled panchayat-level campaign will begin on November 1 and end on November 14.