Dimapur, June 8 (MExN): Basically an agrarian state, Nagaland still imports 72% of its food grains, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said today. Rio was in Dimapur to distribute tractors and power-tillers under the Chief Minister’s Corpus Fund to beneficiaries. 87 progressive farmers from the state received power tractors and tillers under the CM Corpus Fund 2009-10, during a distribution programme held at the DDSC Stadium on June 8.
Here, the chief minister urged farmers to adopt scientific methods of farming to boost food-grain production in the state. Emphasizing on the need to attain higher surplus production, Rio said intensive efforts would be needed at all levels. Even though 80% of the state’s population is engaged in farming, it produces only 28% of food production, Rio said. He remarked that no amount of human workforce can achieve surplus production unless machineries are involved.
Rio reminded that to phase-out the ‘bottleneck’ and to produce surplus, the state government has implemented a policy to modernize efforts to attain self-sufficiency in food.
Rio said that the government has taken up the policy for crop-zoning and distribution of good seeds to progressive farmers for self-sufficiency. It is also establishing cold storage facilities and imparting training to farmers. He said that the state government’s vision for food security for all by 2020 can only be achieved thorough subsistence farming. The CM appealed to the progressive farmers ‘not to sell the machines’ but to utilize it to the full, to become self-dependent to uplift the economic status of the state. Since 2006, the government has been providing farming machineries to farmers at 75% subsidized rate. There have been reports about beneficiaries selling their machines outside the state , too, Rio said.
The programme was organised by the department of Planning & Coordination with the department of Agriculture. Minister of Planning and Coordination TR Zeliang said that the government is working to improve the condition of farmers in the state. Year 2006 which was declared as ‘year of farmers’ was to empower farmers and boost agricultural production, Zeliang said. With modern machineries in place, he added, Nagaland can be at par with other states in terms of production. He urged beneficiaries to make proper use of the machineries.
Zeliang said the objective to improving farming systems through mechanization is to fulfill the state government’s vision of food security by 2020 and by taking up work culture and entrepreneurship for self-sufficiency. The minister appealed to the beneficiaries to utilize the machines to the optimum for the benefit of the state.
Agriculture Minister Dr. Chumben Murry also urged the beneficiaries to be honest and put their machines to good use. He said that the state is need of food-security which can only be achieved through mechanized farming.
(Inputs from DIPR)
