SHILLONG: Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare and Panchayat Raj Parshottam Rupala on Wednesday said that efforts had been made to encourage farmers of the region to engage in organic farming.
“Organic farming will help in increasing the income of the farmers, making agriculture more innovative and besides 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, the minister emphasised on the need to equip farmers with improved farming technologies, high yielding scientifically produced varieties 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 north-eastern region including Meghalaya has tremendous scope in organic farming and I on behalf of Government of India, assure you that all possible support will be provided in this regard”. He also said that good quality horticulture crops such as orange, pineapple, flowers etc., can be produced in the region and surpluses can be marketed with effective supply chain management.
He expressed his satisfaction over the efforts, which the ICAR has initiated for doubling the farmers’ income within the next five years in their adopted villages. He said exploitation of technologies developed by the ICAR Institutes, State/Central Agricultural Universities in the region would not only boost the productivity but also increase the overall production of the country.
Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain, who also attended the programme, said that it was the dream of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring about a second green revolution in the North East through organic farming.
The minister, however, admitted that poor transportation and communication facilities in the region had been hampering the growth of the region in general and agriculture sector in particular.
He said that government of India was always working to address this issue and that his ministry had already fixed the target to connect all that state capitals to Delhi through Rail. “The railway communication will not only help in the inter-state communication but will also help the farming community to export their commodity to different parts of the country and increase their income,” he added.
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.