BGREI

The eastern region of the country, which occasionally hits the headlines for starvation deaths, has turned into a food surplus zone, thanks to a special programme launched last year to boost productivity in the area. The government said that “bringing green revolution in eastern India programme (BGREI)”, launched in 2010-11, has resulted in a robust increase in foodgrain production. Rice production from the region is estimated at 562.6 lakh tonnes, an increase of 19.8% over last year. The increase across the country is estimated at 7%. Overall foodgrain production from the region is estimated at 1,032 lakh tonnes, an increase of 11.9% against an all-India increaseof 2.2%, an official statement said. This is good news for policymakers who have been battling high food inflation for nearly two years. Food inflation has turned negative after hovering near double-digits while vegetable prices have fallen consistently for the past few months. The improvement in supply is expected to ease the pressure on the food inflation front. The programme launched in 2010-11 was an initiative taken by the Prime Minster based on the Inter Ministerial Task Force. The BGREI is a part of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVYJ ) programme with an outlay of Rs 400 crore. This scheme was implemented in the eastern region, including Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The programme gained momentum in 2011-12 with the focus on rice and wheat and strategic interventions relating to crop production, water harvesting and recycling, asset building and site specific activities. This was needed for improving the agronomy-adopting cluster approach aimed at enhancing the productivity per unit area and the income of the farmers, the statement said. According to the government, the increased production was due to focused resource allocation and utilization. The significant increase in production of foodgrain in the region not only offset the decline in production in central and peninsular India but also contributed significantly to the highest-ever production of foodgrain. The growth in foodgrain, rice and wheat, provides an opportunity to procure and create foodgrain reserves locally, reducing the pressure on Punjab and Haryana, and cutting costs on transport and other logistics, the government said. It said the focus will now be to consolidate the gains with continued emphasis during the 12th Five Year Plan which begins in April. Further steps would be taken to improve the infrastructure for procurement and storage of the produce and to ensure a reasonable price for the farmers, the statement said.