West Bengal ranks first in paddy and vegetable production in the country. It stands second in potato production (after Uttar Pradesh). It is also the leading producer of jute, pineapple, litchi, mango and loose flowers. Cultivation of pulses, oilseeds and maize is also picking up fast. The emerging issues of agriculture in West Bengal begin with the problem of agricultural and rural infrastructure. The problem of agricultural infrastructure includes problem of irrigation, soil conservation, and soil testing services. Besides, it also includes problem of land, labour, capital, modern agricultural inputs and preservation. The other major problems faced by the farmers of the State include environmental problem, and problem of production, production costs, problem of market infrastructure and price fluctuations. To meet these challenges a sound infrastructural condition is needed. In this respect, it is very essential to know what the existing agricultural infrastructural condition in the state is. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to focus and analysis on agricultural infrastructure condition of the state, West Bengal. According to the study the major agricultural infrastructures of the state are – (1) State agricultural universities i.e. BCKV and UBKV (2) West Bengal University of Animal and Fisheries Sciences (3) An institution of central university, Visva Bharati University (4) General universities with agricultural faculties-Calcutta University and Barasat Unniversity (5) IIT with faculty of agriculture-IIT, Karagpur (6) Private colleges with agriculture courses (7) Agricultural research institution under ICAR i.e. CIFRI, CRIJAF, NIRJAFT, ATARI (8) ICAR regional research stations (9) Agricultural research sub-station under ICAR institutes (10) All agricultural blocks of the states (total -335) –each block having agriculture development office (11) agriculture training institute of the state i.e. SAMETI, NSTIAM (12) all KVKs of the state (13) Public and private soil testing laboratories (14) Agricultural research station under state government (15) A school of agriculture management-i.e. TSRDAM (16) various crop boards i.e. tea, coconut etc. (17) State marketing board (18) Various sericulture entities (19) Infrastructure of watershed development (20) Seed testing laboratories (21) Various agricultural farms of state government (22) seed supplying institutions (23) Agriculture training centres (24) Infrastructure of state department of agriculture etc. Ongoing programs of respective departments need an integrated and well coordinated approach among the line departments; otherwise repetition of efforts ends up with wastage of money and energy. In this respect, the following key focus points will be-(1) Rejuvenation and restoration of natural resources (2) Increase productivity per unit of land. (3) Bridging marketing gap (4) Encourage agri – entrepreneurship (5) Create new agri– Infrastructure (6) Skill & awareness development.
Impact Factor
2022: 6.012
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