Bihar govt to promote organic farming
Posted: 18 Jan 2011 09:34 PM PST
PATNA: The Bihar government has launched an “organic farming promotion programme” for the cultivation of organic crops in all the districts of the state. The government has decided to develop 38 “organic grams (organic villages)” for which a sum of Rs 255 crore has been sanctioned for five years.
Some of these villages are: Dahour (Patna), Sartha (Nalanda), Belsand (Gopalganj), Gaighat Jaata (Muzaffarpur), Rajapaakar (Vaishali) and Narpatganj (Araria).
This programme is being run under the leadership of A K Sinha, agriculture production commissioner (APC). At the district level, the district agriculture officer (DAO) has been entrusted with the task of monitoring the programme.
Any farmer residing in the chosen villages, who has land possession certificate (LPC), can do organic farming. For this, the minimum land requirement is one acre and maximum four hectares. In return, farmers growing organic crops will get all the benefits from the government.
At present, farmers in these villages are producing only organic vegetables and fruits, including potato, cauliflower, tomato, cabbage, peas, ladyfinger, carrot, litchi, guava, mango, etc.
At present, certification of organic crops produced in Nalanda has started which is being done by an agency, Ecocert. In Muzaffarpur, the National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) is doing certification of “litchi”. For the certification of organic crops in rest of the districts, the government will soon float tenders.
Under this plan, the government is currently helping these farmers in producing natural fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides. For the first time in India, Bihar farmers will get 50% subsidy for production of wormy compost, a natural fertilizer.
Dr R K Sohane, director, Bihar Agriculture Management and Extension Training Institute (Bameti), told TOI, “Organic farming is in the agricultural roadmap of the Bihar CM. These organic crops will be available in market for domestic buyers and for catering industry which includes hotels, flights, etc. But along with that, we are planning to export them to bring benefit to state farmers.”
“The changing lifestyle of people and increasing demand for healthy food has forced the government to take this initiative,” said Dr Ajay Kumar, deputy director, horticulture department, Bihar.
Source:The Times of India
Bihar Makes Headway on Girls’ Education
Posted: 18 Jan 2011 09:27 PM PST
The number of girls aged five and 6-14 has increased across India in 2010. Yet, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) report has singled out Bihar state for its progress, lauded as “commendable.”
The ASER was prepared Pratham – a non-governmental organization in India. The report has been conducted annually for the past five years. Last year, the survey reached 522 districts, more 14,000 villages, 300,000 households and almost 700,000 children.
Enrolment rates in Bihar have been on the rise since 2005, for girls especially. In 2006, 17.5% of girls aged 11-14 were out of school. By 2010, this number had fallen to 4.6%. The number of girls out of school in Bihar is even lower than the national average of 5.9% in 2010.
Bihar’s progress is especially impressive because of its high poverty rate. Several other Indian states, such as Gujarat, are often held up as examples of more successful development but have performed lower on indicators for gender parity in education.
Across India, the overall share of out-of-school children has dropped significantly to only 3.5% (the same as Bihar’s). Today, more than 96% of children attend school, even if simply for school feeding programmes.
In southern India, greater enrolment of children aged 6-14 in private schools has been identified as a recent trend. Roughly a quarter of children in this age group are now enrolled in private schools.
Children aged 6-14 are covered under the national Right to Education Act. Still, the number of five year old children enrolled in school has also increased in rural areas. In 2009, the number of five year olds enrolled in school was only 54.6%. But by the end of 2010, this number reached 62.8%.
The region of Karnataka has made the biggest overall improvement here, with the number of five year olds in school more than tripling from 17.1% in 2009 to 67.6% in 2010.
However, the ASER report also found that the absolute number of children in school, as measured by gross enrolment and attendance rates, isn’t a good enough indicator about educational progress. The quality of education remains a major debate, as Indian children’s basic abilities to read and write have stagnated, while mathematical abilities have declined.
Students’ actual learning, generally measured through standardized testing, is the foremost indicator of the quality of education. Learning is influenced by a variety of factors ranging from the availability of textbooks, supplies and facilities to teaching styles and strategies (pedagogies).
Once again, Bihar has performed well above national statistics. While nationally, only 50% of Class VIII students can solve level-appropriate math questions, 69% of students in Bihar can solve them.
Going forward, while the challenges are enormous, educational planners in India must ensure that schools are properly equipped, classroom sizes are manageable and that teacher absenteeism is reduced. As the Bihar story shows, by matching quantitative improvements with qualitative ones, India’s children could see rapid gains in universal primary education.
Source:sos children villages
Villagers generate ‘green’ electricity in Bihar
Posted: 18 Jan 2011 09:18 PM PST
Operating under the name of ‘Husk Power System’, a group of villagers from Bihar’s Madhubani District got together to generate electricity using paddy husk.
The initiative, which has 26 plants, is lighting over 10,000 homes in the region.
Suresh Prasad Gupta, an official of the Husk Power Plant, said their initiative does not have a profit motive behind it.
“This machinery is a part of a husk power plant. We generate energy from rice husk. And we give the supply to the whole village. With the help of rice husk we give a supply of full six hours of power in the rural areas where there is no electricity,” he said.
Muyutyanjya Pandey, former village head, said the power plant has proved to be a blessing for the children in the village, who are no more dependent on daylight for their studies.
“With the help of this, children of our village are able to study. With better resources, everyone is able to study and the electricity is available for six continuous hours from 6 in the evening till 12 in night,” said Pandey.
The village till date does not form part of electrification projects undertaken by the government in the region.
The village initiative, which is three year old, operated its first plant in August 2007.
Source:Sify News
Bihar Nitish to facilitate interlinking of rivers
Posted: 18 Jan 2011 09:15 PM PST
Interlinking of rivers will not only solve the perennial problem of floods but will also create irrigation opportunities.
Patna: In a significant step towards putting Bihar on the development map, Nitish Kumar’s ruling government is to start interlinking rivers in the state.
The move, officials said, will not only solve the perennial problem of floods — which are an annual phenomenon in the state — but will also create irrigation opportunities, a necessity to increase agricultural production.
The past five years have seen huge destruction of crops either by floods or droughts.
Authorities said that the first such project concerning the interlinking of the Burhi Gandak river with Noon, Baya and Ganga rivers would start by mid 2011-12. The total estimated cost of this project is above Rs4 billion.
Advanced stages
“The pre-feasibility report of the scheme has already been cleared by the department and the preparation for the detailed project report is in advanced stage,” Bihar’s Water Resources Department Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said.
Stating that the National Water Development Agency of the Federal government was the project consultant, the minister said that he expected to complete this ambitious project in a couple of years or so.
Source:Gulf News
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