Farmer FIRST Programme launched at Mao village
Source: Chronicle News Service
Senapati, February 21 2023:
The Directorate of Extension Education, Central Agricultural University (CAU), Imphal distributed agricultural inputs to farmers under Farmer FIRST (Farm, Innovation, Resources, Science & Technology) Programme at Mao Pungdong village on Monday.
The distribution function attended by Lok Sabha MP (Outer) Dr Lorho S Pfoze as chief guest, CAU director of extension education professor Ph Ranjit Sharma as president and CAU VC Dr Anupam Misra as guest of honour was sponsored by ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI), Zone-VII, Umiam.
In his keynote address, professor Ranjit Sharma said that Farmer FIRST is directly implemented from the PMO office and running in 52 centres across India.
The programme is operational at three centres in the NE states including at CAU Imphal.
The other two centres in the region are Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat and ICAR, UMIAM.
The first programme of CAU Imphal started in 2016-17 and it completed 5 years at Yairipok in Imphal East.
During these years, CAU had transferred available technologies to around 600 farmer families.
Such farmers and families had adopted sustainable way of life while the university had shared and impart the technology, he said.
According to CAU, Imphal VC Dr Anupam Mishra, farmers usually practice leisure farming without scientific technology but the government of India is trying to promote farming at any place.
Having chosen the Mao village, officials of the university had been instructed how Farmer FIRST Programme would be implemented, he said while stressing the need to identify plants available in the region.
He also said that farmers need to know the value of each vegetable and plant and identify what type of soil is suitable for each plant.
In his address, MP Dr Lorho S Pfoze said that farmers need to understand Farmer FIRST Programme and take benefit of the programme.
He also encouraged the villagers to let other people come and learn from them about the programme.
The MP urged farmers to work with sincerity so as to ensure high yield in future with such introduction.
Briefing the media, professor Ranjit Sharma said that Farmer FIRST programme is underway in two hill districts namely Shangsak Khullen village in Ukhrul district and Mao Pungdong in Senapati district.
He informed that different machineries including egg incubator, seasonal seeds, chicks, piglets, mini rice mill, power generator, etc., Were distributed to the farmers.
Professor Ranjit also said that Farmer FIRST programme was recently introduced in the village from August last year.
The university is also trying to introduce scientific intervention by using drone in the region, he added.