Bihar cooperative minister Alok Mehta has told the state assembly the state government is planning to introduce cooperative farming in the state to give a new thrust to cooperative movement and provide international forward market linkage to farm produce, reports Times of India.
The minister was intervening in the House debate on the Rs 670 crore budgetary demand of the cooperative department for 2016-17 fiscal.
The cooperative minister indicated that the govt is interested in promoting spice cultivation under the cooperative model so farmers could grow all kinds of spices including turmeric for the international market.
According to the minister, the districts and blocks, traditionally known for spice production, would be selected first for model cooperative farming. The cooperative farming would first be introduced as a “pilot project” in some areas and then replicated in the remaining parts of the state, the minister added.