West Bengal government to introduce community radios in rural areas for farmers

KOLKATA: West Bengal government is all set to introduce community radios in rural areas to help farmers to get all sorts of updated "area specific" information related to agriculture. The government has decided to identify four to five zones initially and community radio stations. Later on, the service will be introduced across the state. To begin with, two community radios of different frequencies will be aired in two different

areas in Burdwan and Birbhum districts. Each of the community radios will cover a radius of around 20 to 30 km radius. The areas where there the yield of the crop is maximum compared to that of other places have been chosen for the initial phase of the project.

A senior official said that the state government has taken several steps to educate farmers about the updated and modern technology. Programmes including regular workshop for farmers where they learn from experts and scientists and get information about various schemes are being organised in Mati Tirtha in Burdwan.

The official said that the state agriculture department has decided to set up automated weather stations in each and every block of the state so that farmers get weather updates without any loss of time.