Hyderabad, Aug 12: Bihar Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha met his Telangana counterpart Tummala Nageswara Rao in Hyderabad on Wednesday to discuss strengthening cooperation between the two states in agriculture, with a focus on technology, crop diversification and farmer welfare.During the meeting at the Telangana Secretariat, Rao briefed Sinha on various technology-based initiatives being used to support farmers and improve agricultural productivity in the state.
The discussions covered digital services such as weather alerts, video-based interaction between farmers and experts, crop registration, satellite-assisted crop monitoring, digital urea booking and farmer identification through AgriStack.Rao also highlighted the use of artificial intelligence in crop monitoring.
He said the AI-based ‘Krishivas’ system helps identify agricultural problems at an early stage, allowing authorities to take timely measures.The Telangana minister also outlined several farmer-focused programmes, including Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima and Rythu Bharosa. He said the state provides an annual assistance of Rs 12,000 per acre under Rythu Bharosa and offers a bonus of Rs 500 for fine-quality paddy.
Rao further informed the Bihar minister about Telangana’s experience with crop diversification. Apart from paddy and cotton, farmers in the state are increasingly cultivating maize, red gram, soybean, fruits, chilli, turmeric and oil palm.Oil-palm cultivation emerged as a particular area of interest for Bihar. Sinha sought information about incentives for growers, nurseries, processing facilities and micro-irrigation systems developed to support the crop.
According to the Telangana government, oil palm covered around 3.11 lakh acres in the state during 2025-26, with crude palm oil production estimated at about 74,000 metric tonnes.Sinha, meanwhile, outlined Bihar’s agricultural priorities, including crop diversification, technology adoption and the development of specialised crop clusters.
He said a large majority of Bihar’s farmers are small and marginal cultivators and highlighted the importance of agriculture to the state’s population and economy.Bihar is developing crop-specific clusters for products including makhana, maize, fruits, vegetables and millets, with the aim of improving production, processing and market access.
Both ministers emphasised the potential benefits of sharing agricultural technology, expertise and successful practices between the two states.They said greater cooperation could help improve productivity, increase farmers’ incomes, strengthen value addition and create new market opportunities for agricultural produce.
