Lyngdoh seeks Centre help for agri missions

SHILLONG: State Agriculture Minister Banteidor Lyngdoh has sought the intervention of Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh on appropriate and liberal enhancements in allocations under centrally sponsored schemes for farmers.
Lyngdoh submitted a memorandum to the agriculture and farmers’ welfare minister on Saturday highlighting the state missions to augment production of Lakadong turmeric, jackfruit and mushroom and Honey Bee Mission.
In the memorandum, Lyngdoh said despite the ban on coal mining and the state’s precarious financial situation, the agriculture department is pressing ahead with the missions.
Pointing to the delay in setting up of the Central Agriculture University (CAU) at Kyrdemkulai, the state minister said land measuring 226.37 acre was handed over to the vice chancellor of CAU, Imphal, by the Meghalaya government.
“Till date, despite a lapse of four years since we handed over the land, the full-fledged CAU did not come up in Meghalaya for reasons that are not known to us,” Lyngdoh wrote to Singh.
He sought enhancement of funds under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture and urged Singh to set up a Meghalaya State Agricultural Technology Applications Research Institute.
Lyngdoh contended that the footprint of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research at Barapani has not yet been felt beyond rice and maize and no technology for processing various fruit trees in the state has been developed or grounded by the research centre.