NEC for development in agriculture sector in North East States
Source: The Sangai Express / Agencies

Shillong, July 17 2015 : A regional review meeting of the Agriculture and Allied Sector, North Eastern Council was held in the conference hall of NEC Secretariat, Shillong yesterday.

Chaired by CK Das, member of NEC, the meeting was attended by 41 senior officers of NEC Secretariat, Planning Departments, NERCORMP and NERAMAC and line departments of the 8 North Eastern States.

The meeting deliberated on animal husbandry related issues such as piggery development, poultry farming and also on issues on area expansion of fruit and floriculture crops for the States of NEH Region and on the need to formulate a perspective regional plan for Agriculture & Allied Sector in NER apart from State-wise review of the ongoing NEC funded projects and retained projects.

CK Das highlighted a number of formidable problems that have been plaguing the development of Agriculture & Allied Sector in the North Eastern region like unavailability of quality seeds, inadequate network of roads and rail lines, limited availability of arable land, loss of tons of precious top soil every year due to erosion, low productivity, low cropping intensity and inadequacy in the availability of inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation and farm credit.

He lauded NEC's initiatives during the last few years to focus more on attaining self-sufficiency in the production of food items like eggs, fish and other food of animal origin.

Das also stated that with population explosion in the region the average land holding is only about one hectare in Assam and less than that in other North Eastern States thereby resulting in a need to produce more from the limited area.

He also stressed on the urgent need to increase productivity as well as cropping intensity for ensuring food security in the region.

Vesting land rights to farmers, improving the access to bank loans for agricultural purposes, conservation of agricultural gene pools of the crops growing in the region were also emphasized by CK Das.

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