By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 9: An interface meet was organised with the district-level Agriculture and Horticulture officers here on Friday deliberating over how district-level officers have ground level contact with the farmers, which will help research to percolate to the farmers’ field.
The programme was graced by the Director of Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, JC Lyngdoh, Joint Director, Research and Training, W Syiemlieh, and Dr BP Singh, Head, Division of Technology Assessment and Capacity (DTAC) of ICAR Research Complex of NEH Region, Umiam.
Welcoming the attendees, Joint Director W Syiemlieh emphasised that both ICAR and the state government should work in collaboration for the benefit of the farmers.
DTAC HOD Dr BP Singh gave a brief presentation on the basic motive of an interface meeting and how it can be used to its maximum benefit. Chief guest of the occasion, Director of Agriculture department, JC Lyngdoh, strongly recommended the collaboration between ICAR and the department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to reshape the farming system of the state and bring an overall growth in the farming community.
She requested the ICAR to look into the disease aspect in tomatoes and potatoes which the farmers of the state face on a regular basis.
Referring about the problem in harvesting of potato, she expressed hope that the engineering division of ICAR will very soon come up with a tool for harvesting of potato which will reduce the drudgery among the farmers.
Scientist from different divisions of ICAR — Dr VK Verma from Horticulture, Dr Amit Kumar from Plant Breeding, Dr Debasish Chakraborty from Agro-metrology, Dr Badapmain M from Agronomy, Er H Jiten Singh from Agriculture Engineering, and Dr Raju Singh from Agroforestry, presented the areas where collaboration between both departments can be achieved. Extensive discussions on various problems faced in the field situation by the state government officers were discussed so that appropriate solutions can be found for the upliftment of the farmers.