SHILLONG, May 18: The agricultural scientists of Meghalaya were on Wednesday asked by Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh to apply the findings of their laboratory-based research work on the croplands so as to address any probable food security challenges.
Singh on Wednesday visited the ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Region, Umiam, to witness Lumsniang, a new pig variety developed by the institute.
He was accompanied by Ri-Bhoi Deputy Commissioner Arpit Upadhyaya and Ri-Bhoi Superintendent of Police Giri Prasad.
The Union minister, in his address, accentuated the need to popularise plantation of Moringa (drum stick).
He informed the gathering that Moringa has high carbon absorption potential, which can play a vital role in the development of carbon-neutral villages in India.
Singh also emphasised the need to augment food grain yield in the days to come given the rise in demand.
“Food security challenges are inevitable in the coming years owing to the exhaustive population pressure. Focus should be on taking research outputs from labs to the fields,” he argued.
The minister pointed out that India, despite the contribution of Green Revolution, is in dire need of producing more food grains with better yield.
Calling upon the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences to work in tandem and keep in mind the interest of farmers, the Union minister said, “A holistic integrated approach is the need of the hour for bringing about any development in an aspirational district like Ri Bhoi.”
“The country and its villages will be prosperous only when the farmers prosper. If they fetch more economic returns from their harvest, they can use that income to expand agricultural activities,” Singh argued.
The scientists of the ICAR and the university, during the day, also held marathon meetings with Singh on issues pertaining to agriculture and allied sectors, particularly livestock and fishery.
He visited the piggery, poultry and dairy farms run by the institute. (With PTI inputs)
