Creation of one post of “Additional Director of Agriculture” in each discipline by surrendering equal number of posts in Basic Grade in the same discipline:

The following five posts of Additional Director of Agriculture, one in each discipline, need to be created in Pay Scale No. 19 & Pay Band 5 with Grade Pay of Rs. 8700/- (ROPA 2009) / Level 21 (ROPA 2019), for smooth functioning of research works in the field of agriculture in the State of West Bengal:

Sl. No.	Discipline	Proposed Designation
1	Botany	Additional Director of Agriculture (Crop Improvement)
2	Mycology and Plant Pathology	Additional Director of Agriculture (Disease Management)
3	Entomology	Additional Director of Agriculture (Insect Pest Management)
4	Agricultural Chemistry	Additional Director of Agriculture (Soil Health Management)
5	Agronomy	Additional Director of Agriculture (Resource Management)

With the creation of the posts of Additional Director of Agriculture, discipline-wise total strength in Research Wing of Agriculture Directorate remains unchanged, envisaging reduction of posts borne in the basic grade.

3. Creation of discipline-wise separate Directorate under the Department of Agriculture:

The Agriculture Department is, at present, shouldering the herculean task of various departmental aspects of Agriculture of the State with the help of a single Directorate even at this stage when multifaceted approach for overall crop production is necessary. Handling of Agricultural Research, Soil and Water Conservation, Plant Protection, Seed Production and Quality Control, Transfer of Technology and Extension for the State as a whole by a single Directorate set up has already proved to be inadequate to deliver the goods in terms of our needs.

There is no dispute that availability of land will inevitably be decreased due to urbanization, industrialization and other causes. This will certainly call for efficient use of every square inch of land as well as conversion of non-agricultural land to agriculture in course of time. Water is also another gradually limiting input. Seed, the most important input, is becoming the weapon for economic supremacy. Endowed with diverse agro-climate, seed production potential of our State requires to be harnessed.

In order to use every square inch of land efficiently, to generate more crop per drop of water and to harvest the seed production potential, the time is fitting for restructuring the present set up of the Department by creating several Directorates as mentioned below and elevating the post of Director of Agriculture & Ex-Officio Secretary as Director General of Agriculture, West Bengal & E O Secretary. This restructuring will devolve funds and function in the specific areas of activities and facilitate timely supervision and monitoring for achieving the ultimate objectives.

The Association, therefore, likes to propose again for creation of seven (7) numbers of separate posts of Director of Agriculture as mentioned below under overall supervision and control of the Director General of Agriculture, West Bengal & Ex-Officio Secretary by renaming the existing post of the Director of Agriculture & Ex-Officio Secretary.

Creation of seven posts of Director of Agriculture , West Bengal in the existing Pre-revised Pay Band 5 with Grade Pay Rs. 8900/-(ROPA 2009) ie Level 22 in the Pay Matrix (ROPA 2019) by surrendering similar number of posts in the basic grade in scale no. 16 in the following manner.

Creation of seven posts of Director of Agriculture, West Bengal in the existing Pre-Revised Pay Scale No. 20 (Rs. 16400-450-20000/-) i.e. Pay Band 5 with Grade Pay of Rs. 8900/- (ROPA 2009) / Un-Revised Scale of Pay No. 19 & Pay Band 5 with Grade Pay of Rs. 8700/- (ROPA 2009) / Level 22 (ROPA 2019) by surrendering similar number of posts in the basic grade in scale No. 16 in the following manner:

Sl. No.	Proposed Designation	Overall in charge of
1	Director of Agriculture (Extension & Training), West Bengal	Technology Dissemination, Human Resource Development, Disaster Management, etc.
2	Director of Agriculture (Food Grain Production), West Bengal	Development of food crops like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, adaptive research on food crops, etc.
3	Director of Agriculture (Commercial Crops), West Bengal	Production and development of Jute, Cotton, and other fibre crops; also Sugarcane, Potato, and other tuber crops.
4	Director of Agriculture (Soil & Water Conservation), West Bengal	Soil and Water conservation, watershed management, etc.
5	Director of Agriculture (Inputs), West Bengal	Distribution and Quality control of all agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers, micro-nutrients, Bio and Organic fertilizers, pesticides, farm implements, etc.
6	Director of Agriculture (Administration), West Bengal	General Administration of the Directorate of Agriculture, cadre/service maintaining cells, etc.

B. In Research Wing

Sl. No.	Proposed Designation	Overall in charge of
1	Director of Agriculture (Research), West Bengal	Plan and execute programmes to bridge the gap between potential and actual production, research programme (fundamental as well as Adaptive research) in Agriculture.

The Director General of Agriculture, West Bengal & Ex- Officio Secretary should be appointed from amongst above seven Directors of Agriculture on the basis of seniority cum merit and as per recruitment rules to be notified.

4. Publication of Recruitment Rule for appointment to the post of Director of Agriculture & Ex-Officio Secretary, Department of Agriculture:

The post of Director of Agriculture, West Bengal was upgraded long back to the post of Director of Agriculture & Ex-Officio Secretary, West Bengal vide No. 4661-PAR (IAS) dated 02.08.91 but the Recruitment Rules for the said upgraded post have not been notified yet.

The Association demands immediate implementation of judgement passed by Hon’ble WBAT in the case O.A 578 of 2017 in context of Recruitment Rule for appointment to the post of Director of Agriculture & Ex-Officio Secretary, Department of Agriculture:

5. Manning of the posts by Agricultural Technologists which are now manned by Administrative officers:

As has been done in the Health Department, following posts in the Agriculture Department should be manned by the Senior Technical Officers of the Agriculture Directorate to accelerate the pace of work and easy understanding of the proposals. The important decisions in the files are either delayed or denied by the officers concerned only due to lack of Agriculture background. As such, the Association demands for creation of 3 new posts,one at the rank of Additional Director of Agriculture ,2 in the rank of Joint Director of Agriculture to facilitate the technical works pertaining to department.

6. Strengthening of the State Seed Certification Agency:

Quality seed is one of the basic inputs for development in Agriculture. To sustain agricultural production, and also to achieve self-sufficiency in seed production as well as to achieve 5.0% growth rate in agricultural production in West Bengal, due importance should be given to production & timely distribution of improved seeds among the farming community. Despite the establishment of West Bengal State Seed Certification Agency in 1983 with these objectives, the desired output could not be harnessed. At that time, only 300 ha was under seed certification programme in the State which has gone beyond 140 times at present. But neither a single staff nor any infrastructural facility has been provided to strengthen the W.B. State Seed Certification Agency. Due to this acute shortage of staff & facilities to the agency, the officials of this agency have to work with a tremendous work load for which the quality seed production programme of this State is being hampered to a great extent and the farming community is also suffering a lot.

The Association demands that, West Bengal State Seed Certification Agency should be strengthened immediately as per the need of the Seed Industries and the farming community of the State.

7. Proper manning of the Office of the Deputy Director of Agriculture (Administration), Alipurduar, Kalimpong , Jhargram, Paschim Bradhaman, Purba Bardhaman and Howrah and Assistant Director of Agricultural (Admn.) Office, Egra:

It is quite imperative that creation of Agricultural Districts and Sub-Division without providing adequate manpower does hardly serve any purpose. The offices of the Deputy Director of Agriculture (Administration), Alipurduar, Kalimpong, Jhargram,paschim Bardhaman, Purba Bardhaman and Howrah and Assistant Director of Agriculture (Admn.), Egra are inadequately manned. The Association demands strengthening of those offices with appropriate manpower immediately.

8. Formation of Agriculture Council of West Bengal as a step towards Registration of Agricultural Technologists as Crop Doctor:

Following constant persuasion of the Association, the Government constituted a high powered core committee with terms of reference long back and the said core committee has already submitted a draft bill for formation of Agriculture Council of West Bengal, the fate of the same is unexplained till now.

The ICAR, vide F. No. Edn/13/1/2016-HRD dated 06.10.2016, has already declared UG Degree in Agriculture and Allied subjects as Professional Degree. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has recently enacted the Andhra Pradesh State Agricultural Council Bill, 2020 vide L.A. Bill No. 22 of 2020. The Association, therefore, appeals to the State Government for immediate constitution of “West Bengal State Agricultural Council” towards regulation of Agricultural/ Horticultural Activities/ Practices as well as registration of Agricultural/ Horticultural Graduates with their professional degrees as “Crop Doctors” for wider dissemination of technical know-how, farm advisories, quality inputs etc. to the farming community in the State of West Bengal.

9. Establishment of “KRISHI BHAVAN” at the State, District, Sub-Division and Block Levels:

Although through intervention of the Government, “Krishi Bhavan” has been established in some districts, the Association demands that the Government should take appropriate action for the establishment of “Krishi Bhavan” in all the Blocks, Sub-Divisions, Districts, and at the State level to facilitate infrastructural development. Most rented office premises are located in shabby areas and buildings and are facing eviction orders due to a lack of sufficient funds for rents. Also, a huge fund, now spent on rents from the Government exchequer, can be saved. In order to overcome these problems, planned construction of 'Krishi Bhavan' should be prioritized.

10. Creation of new Sub-Divisions at par with Administrative setup of Home Department:

The Association demands the immediate creation of Agricultural Sub-Divisions at par with the Administrative setup for proper monitoring and supervision towards all-around uniform agricultural development in the State with proper manning in all categories of staff in the newly created Sub-Divisions.

11. Creation of offices of Soil Conservation Wing in four newly created Agricultural Districts:

With the formation of Kalimpong as a new district, the creation of the post of Deputy Director of Agriculture (Administration), Soil Conservation, Hill Development, Kalimpong, with ample staff strength, is also demanded for smooth implementation of Government Developmental Schemes related to Soil & Water Conservation in the Hill Region.

12. Immediate functioning of two Bio Control Laboratories one each at Tollygunge and Coochbehar with establishment of laboratories and manning as per posts sanctioned decades ago.

13. Specific Issues of the Research Wing:

a) Publication of Agricultural Research Policy in the light of G.O. No. 4528-Res./7C-1/83 dated 28.03.1983:

The State Research wing under the Department of Agriculture requires more funding and manpower to improve the quality of research work. It is observed with great concern that the Research Wing fails to get financial assistance from the allocation of plan budget as a matching grant and subsequently from the central fund, generally mooted through the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). SATSA, WB, demands a clear Research Policy (Adaptive / Applied / Fundamental) to do justice to the individual skills and intellects of the Research Personnel.

b) Provision of research facilities as prevailing in ICAR:

According to the National Policy of Agriculture (NARP), Agricultural Research has been transferred to the State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) except in West Bengal. The scientists in the Research wing of the Directorate carry out similar research as those in the SAUs or ICAR Institutes. SATSA, WB demands that officers in the Research Wing of the Agriculture Department, Govt. of West Bengal, be provided with the same facilities as in the ICAR system.

Main demands:

i) Allowances for publishing research papers in scientific journals / periodicals.

ii) Special provision of funds including advance drawal to attend workshops, seminars, symposiums, or conferences outside and inside the State or abroad, including registration charges and travel expenses.

iii) Permission for scientists to undertake projects funded by public and private sectors as Principal Investigators for effective fund utilization.

iv) Every Research Station should be manned with experts from all disciplines for comprehensive development.

v) Creation of posts in WBAS (Research) Cadre for strengthening the Bio-Control Laboratories at Tollygunj and Cooch Behar with personnel from Entomology and Mycology & Plant Pathology for effective functioning.

c) Transfer of Research Wing to SAUs:

The Research Wing should be transferred to the SAUs under NARP with suitable protection of service conditions.

14. Conferring Drawing and Disbursing Power to Assistant Directors of Agriculture at Block, Farm, Soil Conservation and Research Stations:

Given the increasing importance of works and schemes, all officers up to the Block level should be manned with proper decentralization of Administration & Financial powers. Assistant Directors posted at Blocks, Farms, and Soil Conservation should be designated as DDOs with necessary resources for smooth duty discharge.

15. Opening of Bank Account for Asstt. DA (Admn.) of all Sub-Divisions and DDO’s of Evaluation Wing:

Separate bank accounts are urgently needed at the offices mentioned to ensure smooth functioning of schemes and programmes under the Directorate.

16. Opening new avenues for Agricultural Technologists:

16.1 350 Agricultural Graduates emerge annually but employment opportunities in the State Agricultural Department are limited.

16.2 Amendments in Recruitment Rules in branches like Evaluation, Meteorology, Agricultural Marketing, Financial Institutes, Co-operatives, CADC, DRDA, and Rural Development are needed for Agril. Graduates.

16.3 Employment opportunities in schools through Agriculture courses should be considered.

17. Creation of 692 additional posts of Assistant Director of Agriculture @ 2 per Block in West Bengal:

17.1 Despite working at the grassroots, Agricultural Technologists face apathy and neglect. Proper facilities were not provided even under World Bank assistance in the 1970s.

17.2 Presently, only one Agricultural Technologist is present at the Block level, overburdened with numerous responsibilities and schemes like RKVY, BGREI, NFSM, ATMA, NRAA, BSBY, PKVY, BKSY, SDRF, KCC, Krishak Bandhu, PM Kishan.

17.3 Besides statutory administrative jobs, they also perform enforcement activities as Fertilizer, Seed, and Insecticide Inspectors, along with technology dissemination to farmers.

17.4 The Association demands 692 additional posts of Assistant Director of Agriculture @ 2 per Block to ease the burden, similar to the ARD Department.

18. Adequate manning in Centrally Sponsored Scheme / Missions:

The Association observes that there has been a spurt in Mission mode programmes launched by the GOI as well as flush of funds in the Agril. Sector. These mission mode activities, despite their objective of growth in Agril. Sector, do not provide scope for adequate manning on regular basis, rather emphasizes on compulsion in the contractual appointments in various categories. State Government, despite these compulsions, should come forward for adequate manning on regular basis for sustainable development. The Association therefore demands that there should be adequate infrastructure and manning on regular basis under these Missions either by GOI or State Govt. or in collaboration like permanent schemes.

19. Implementation of all the Central and State Schemes through the Directorate of Agriculture:

Association observes that a few no. of schemes like KCC, BSB, BKSY etc. are directly supervised and monitored through communications to the district and even sub-division level by the Agriculture Department, keeping in dark the DA & EOS & the Directorate HQ which is bypassing the hierarchy in the Department.

We demand that all schemes are to be monitored and supervised maintaining hierarchy.

20. Ensuring livelihood support and security of Farmers:

Provisions of credit at low interest rates, delinking credit sanction from Land Titles, securing remunerative price of farm produce, and participation in equal competition in the Global market are required for ensuring livelihood support and farmers' rights.

A. The Association demands to the State Government for recommendation to the Govt. of India for enactment of the following:

· To restrain from implementation of the SSEPER through an autonomous agency, i.e., ATMA and not to substitute the Public Extension System with a private Agency. In sharp contrast, strengthening of the Public Extension System, involvement of and monitoring through three-tier Panchayat Raj Institutions, contribution of 10% share of Govt., non-realization of service charges from the farmers etc., should constitute the focal theme of ATMA, and thereby ATMA should function in commensurate with the policies of the State Govt. and the model should not be a replica of GOI’s model.

B. The Association demands to the State Government for immediate intervention into the entire marketing chain:

viz. processing, value addition, marketing of agricultural produce for securing remunerative price through encouraging and strengthening support to co-operative marketing.

21. Provisions at the GTA:

In the context of Darjeeling & Kalimpong District under Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), our Association places the following demands for the overall development and benefit of agrarian farmers of the Hill Region as follows:

a. Creation of a new post of Deputy Director of Agriculture (Training), Hill Zone at ATC, Kalimpong by surrendering one post out of the existing three posts of Assistant Director of Agriculture (Training) without hampering financial burden to the Govt. Exchequer with the sole objective of imparting training to the backward farmers of the Hill region.

b. Upgradation of Potato Research & Experimental Farm, Ghoom-Bhanjyang & Sonada into Potato Research Station (Hill Zone) with required mandate with a view to undertake different activities on Potato Crop such as breeding & release of Wart immune potato varieties, mass multiplication of immune varieties for seed purpose, conduction of trials, replacement of existing cultivated varieties with wart immune varieties at farmers' field level with the ultimate intent to come out from the already Govt. imposed embargo due to wart disease of Potato.

c. The present post of Assistant Agricultural Chemist at STL, Kalimpong is still under the establishment of the Assistant Director of Agriculture (Administration), Kalimpong. Hence, the post Assistant Agricultural Chemist, STL, Kalimpong needs to be conferred the power of full-fledged Drawing & Disbursing Function as an independent establishment for smooth functioning.

22. Creation of one post of Deputy Director of Agriculture at Zilla Parishad of each District and at Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad:

The Association demands that for better coordination between the district administration and district agriculture office, one post in the rank of Deputy Director of Agriculture should immediately be created at each Zilla Parishad and Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad.

23. Provision of mobile phone with connectivity:

In view of increased app-based activities in all spheres of Agricultural programmes as well as to improve the communicability up to the grassroots level, SATSA demands provision of one 4G android phone with SIM & internet connectivity for each WBAS (Admn) officer of the state working at different tiers.

24. Engagement of Data Entry operator:

Considering the ground reality of heavy load of preserving numerous data at block level for different flagship schemes running through the Agriculture Directorate, one Data Entry operator should be engaged at all the offices of the Assistant Director of Agriculture (Block) of the state immediately.

25. Manning IT Cell of the Agriculture Directorate with Software Personnel:

The IT Cell for the Agriculture Directorate was established in 2017. However, till date, no IT software personnel have been engaged in the cell to address and provide expertise on IT-related issues and projects of the Directorate. SATSA, WB demands the immediate engagement of IT software personnel in the IT Cell.