Agriculture Minister Banteidor Lyngdoh inaugurated the East Khasi Hills District Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Administrative Building at Upper Shillong today.
The construction of the KVK Administrative Building was funded by Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore.
The aim of the KVK is to assist farmers to use the latest technologies and other agricultural tools developed by ICAR to enhance productivity.
Set amid farmlands and surrounded by pine trees, the new office will continue the work of the KVK in also extending assistance to other allied agricultural activities, such as fisheries.
In his speech on what is also National Farmers Day, Lyngdoh lauded the agricultural scientists for their dedicated service of imparting training to the farmers.
At 80 percent of the state’s workforce, farmers are the backbone of Meghalaya’s economy and should be given due recognition and encouraged not to move away from farming, he added.
The Minister was hopeful that a greater budget allocation will be made for agriculture in the next financial year in order to help the state’s agriculturists become progressive rather than just marginal farmers.
Community and Rural Development Minister Hamletson Dohling was also present on the occasion.
At the function various agricultural tools, such as power tillers, garden rakes and line makers were handed over to farmers.
