SHILLONG, AUG 30: Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer & Welfare and Panchayat Raj Parshottam Rupala said that efforts have been made to encourage farmers of the region to engage in organic farming.
This will help in increasing the income of the farmers, making agriculture more innovative and also increasing the overall production of the country, he added.
Addressing the gathering at the Sankalp Se Siddhi programme, organised by ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region at Umiam, Meghalaya today, the minister emphasised on the need to equipping farmers with improved farming technologies, high yielding scientifically produced variety of seeds, organic fertilizers and irrigation facilities to increase their income.
The minister was referring to the state of Sikkim where farmers have been able to increase their income after adopting organic farming. He also lauded the efforts of the state as it has declared itself as an organic state. The minister said, “The northeastern region including Meghalaya has tremendous scope in organic farming and I on behalf of Govt. of India, assure you that all possible support will be provided in this regard”. He also said that good quality of horticulture crops such as orange, pineapple, flowers etc can be produced in the region and surpluses can be marketed with effective supply chain management.
The minister elaborated the Sankalp Se Siddhi programme which seeks to double the farmers’ income by 2022. In doing so, it has unveiled strategies ranging from irrigation to crop insurance, he added. He expressed his satisfaction over the efforts, which the ICAR for NEH Region, Umiam in region, has initiated for doubling the farmers’ income within the next five years in their adopted villages. Exploitation of technologies developed by the ICAR Institutes, State/Central Agricultural Universities in the region will not only boost the productivity but also increase the overall production of the country, he said. He also advised that the technologies, which are being developed at the research institutes and Universities, should be transferred through the KVKs to the farmers who are the actual beneficiaries at the earliest.
Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain, who also attended the programme, said that it is the dream of the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi to bring a second green revolution in the North East through organic farming. Abundant natural resources, congenial climatic conditions, large population of educated youth makes the region suitable to trigger India’s second Green Revolution, he added. He said, “I am from this region, so I know the potential of this region in terms of fruit production, floriculture, spices, medicinal and aromatics plants and so on. Fertilizers used per hectare are negligible in the region and make it default organic except Assam”.
The minister, however, admitted that poor transportation and communication facilities in the region have been hampering the growth of the region in general and agriculture in particular. He said that Govt of India is always working to address this issue and that his ministry has
already fixed the target to connect all that state capitals to Delhi through Rail. It will not only help in the intercommunication but will also help the farming community to export their commodity to different parts of the country and increase their income, he added. He concluded by saying, “the dream to increase the income of the farmers by double by 2022 is a Sankalp which we have to Siddh. In this endeavour, I assure you to extend our cooperation and support wholeheartedly to achieve this noble cause”.
Reacting to a query of a press person the minister said that the construction of Railways in Meghalaya will create huge employment for the youth in Meghalaya. The minister further said, besides employment generation tourism will also increase manifold. The minister expressed his concern over the delay in the progress of the project and that every issue hampering the project should be resolved after addressing all the concern of the people. Shri Parshottam Rupala also handed over a power tiller to farmers of a SHG. The ministers and the people present in the programme also took the New India Pledge to work cohesively for strengthening the region in general and the farming community in particular. Both the ministers concluded with a wish that people will take Sankalp Se Siddhi approach towards achieving the goal of doubling the farmers’ income by 2022.
By Our Reporter
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