Maharashtra Agriculture Department Gets New Organisational Structure After 17 Years

23,476 Regular Posts Approved; 2,668 New Posts Created

Mumbai, August 12: The Maharashtra government has approved a revised organisational structure for the Agriculture Department after a gap of 17 years, with the aim of modernising its functioning and strengthening its reach to farmers.

Under the new structure, 23,476 regular posts in the department have been approved, including 2,668 newly created positions. Posts that had become redundant have been abolished, while some positions have been reduced wherever necessary. The restructuring is expected to reduce the financial burden on the state exchequer and result in annual savings of approximately 12.60 crore.

The Agriculture Department’s previous organisational structure was approved in 2009. Since then, major changes have taken place in the areas of agriculture, technology, mechanisation, climate change and digital governance, creating the need for a comprehensive restructuring of its workforce.

Focus on Farmer Guidance and Modern Agriculture

The revised structure has been designed with a dual objective reducing expenditure by abolishing outdated posts while creating manpower required for agricultural mechanisation, agri-tech, climate-resilient farming and direct guidance to farmers.

Greater importance has been given to field-level staff responsible for providing agricultural advice and support to farmers. The restructuring is expected to improve the delivery of government schemes, technology and guidance to the farming community.

The new structure includes 10 posts of Agriculture Directors, 19 posts of Joint Directors, 115 posts of Deputy Directors and 324 posts of Assistant Directors. In addition, posts at the district and taluka levels have also been sanctioned, including 849 posts of Taluka Agriculture Officers/Technical Officers, 2,070 Agriculture Officers (Group-B), 3,443 Assistant Agriculture Officers and 12,105 Agriculture Assistants.

Separate Directorate for Modern Agriculture

The government has also approved the establishment of a separate Directorate of Agriculture to strengthen the implementation of various schemes related to agricultural mechanisation, asset management and agri-tech.

A total of 63 posts have been sanctioned for the newly established directorate.

The restructuring is expected to strengthen the Agriculture Department’s ability to deliver modern technology, schemes and expert guidance more effectively to farmers. With the growing use of modern agricultural machinery to enhance productivity and increase farm incomes, the new organisational framework is intended to make the department more responsive to the changing needs of the agricultural sector.