Gram panchayat in Bihar surpasses Chinese paddy production record

NEW DELHI: A gram panchayat in Nalanda district of Bihar has excelled the Chinese record of paddy production, as informed by the Union Agriculture Minister Mr Sharad Pawar in the Parliament.

“As per the reports received from the state government, the yield of wet paddy has been recorded at 22.4 tonnes per hectare and that of dry paddy at 20.16 tonnes a hectare in the district of Nalanda, Bihar,” Mr Pawar said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

The record output was achieved under demonstration on System of Rice Intensification (SRI) which was organised at farmer's field during Kharif 2011. The record output in India has surpassed the earlier Chinese output of 19 tonnes per hectare.

The Darbespura panchayat in Katri Sarai block of Nalanda has achieved this rare achievement.

During the 2011-12 crop year (July-June), India is estimated to have produced a record 102.75 million tonnes of rice.

Furthermore, Mr Pawar said that the government is actively providing financial aid of Rs 3,000 for organising demonstration of 0.4 hectare each on SRI under National Food Security Mission-Rice (NFSM-Rice) in identified districts of 16 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and others.