Imphal, March 23: State Governor, Gurbachan Jagat today called for introduction of innovative technologies assimilating with the indigenous knowhow for sustainable food production in the state of Manipur and in the North Eastern Region, which have been facing shortage of food even after 63 years of independence.
Speaking as chief guest at the inaugural function of the three-day “North East Agri Fair, 2009-10” and National Seminar on ‘Sustainable Development of Hills Agriculture in the NEH Region” today at Central Agricultural University (CAU), Iroishemba, the Governor expressed concern over the problem of shortage of food and nutrients being faced by the people of the region.
Agricultural scientists and progressive farmers of states in the North East Region gathered at the Central Agriculture University (CAU) today to participate in the three-day “North East Agri Fair, 2009-10” and National Seminar.
Over 30 stalls displaying techniques of farming practised by the farmers with new methods of cultivation, different states of NER including Sikkim except Assam and Nagaland are participating in the fair and seminar.
“This is due to increasing population pressure, poverty, land degradation and overall scarcity of land resources to sustain the livelihood of farming communities,” the Governor said observing that the main problem with the past efforts in agricultural development was lack of input from the users or local people.
Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for the people of Manipur and other North Eastern states. Development of agriculture and the allied sectors plays a crucial role towards overall development of the region. It’s the backbone of the economy of the people, he said stressing the need for introduction of value crops and grown in the region where there cannot have large farms due to terrain.
One of the main problems facing by the people in the development of agriculture of the region was that of lack of input from the users or local people, Gurbachan observed and said “the process of empowerment must entail the restoration of self-confidence among the people regarding their own capabilities.
Along with the introduction of innovative technologies, the use of indigenous knowledge must also be encouraged, he said citing that technologies evolved research organisations at one or two places do not represent the kind of heterogeneity encounter in the region.
“The people’s knowledge about bio-diversity, historical land use and various conservation needs are to be supplemented with modern scientific methods. Agriculture researchers should work closely with farmers to understand and shape technology choice,” he stressed.
The region is mostly mountainous and sub-mountainous and the agricultural land constitutes only a small proportion of its total area. Keeping this in view, it is imperative that the yield per hectare needs per hectare needs to be increased by all possible means, the Governor observed calling experts in the field to work sincerely and help the farmers in producing sustainable products.
The fair and seminar was organised by the Director of Extension Education, Central Agricultural University, Iroishemba under the sponsorship of the Department of Agriculture and Co-operation, Ministry of Agriculture.
Vice-Chancellor of CAU SN Puri presided over the inaugural function graced by the Governor as Chief Guest. MPs of Lok Sabha, Dr T Meinya and Thangso Baite attended the function as guests of honour among others.
During the three day fair, the will be interaction progammes between the farmers and agricultural scientists everyday and two day seminar which aimed to draft a recommendation for identifying the area of research in the hill areas of the region, associate professor, Dr Nabakumar of the university said at the sideline of the programme.
Hueiyen News Services
