Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has said that introduction of scientific and technical knowledge and skills to farming to replace the existing practices in order to achieve a sustainable model is a real challenge.
Addressing the first-ever national seminar on ‘Interface with Award winning KVKs Building of Success’ at the College of Post Graduate Students in Agriculture Science, CAU in Umiam said that it would not be in the fitness of things to bring a practice from outside and forcing the people to do it.
“Changing the entire way of farming would be incorrect and unfair but to bring in scientific and technical knowledge and skills to the existing practices to achieve a sustainable model of farming is the real challenge,” he said. He further added that the farmers are the asset of the nation and solutions to the problems of the farmers also requires innovation and planning.
The chief minister also said that the famers have always been the core focus of the State government. “The farmers have multiple problems of procuring seeds on time, market connectivity, lack of storage facilities, lack of technical and scientific support and lack of packaging facilities for the products,” he said. He said that the farmers need different interventions at different levels.
He said that the three-day national seminar which was being held for the first time in the country is simple yet important that recognizes the work of the KVKs. “Besides acknowledging the services of KVK scientists it gives an opportunity to be able to share the best practices that are happening in different KVKs throughout the country, especially in the Northeast for the ultimate benefit of the farmers,” he added.
He also suggested that the deliberations of the seminar should be documented and shared with every state so that each state can adopt some of the practices that are most suitable.
