Dignitaries and participants of field day on linseed cultivation at Hovishe on March 25.
Medziphema, March 31 (MExN): The AICRP on Linseed, Medziphema Centre, NU: SAS conducted a field day cum training on post-harvest of linseed crop at Hovishe village under Niuland district, with the participation of farmers and officials from DAO, Niuland on March 25.
The programme also featured an address by Thepusa Nakhro, DAO & Project Director, ATMA, Niuland, who encouraged farmers to adopt improved practices for enhancing productivity and income as the crop is highly nutritional and has a greats cope for value addition at the same time,.
The event began with an invocation by progressive farmer Niketsuno, followed by a welcome address by Prof. L. Tongpang Longkumer, Incharge, AICRP on Linseed.
In his address, he highlighted the activities and significance of the centre, stating that it marks an important milestone for the region in advancing linseed research, including production, breeding, and promotion through demonstrations, trainings, and awareness programmes and also emphasized the growing importance of linseed due to its medicinal and industrial value.
Katoho Holo, Chairman of Hovishe village, expressed his appreciation to the organizing team and encouraged farmers to adopt linseed cultivation and expand its area in the village, while emphasizing collective efforts in promoting the crop.
Dr. Anil Kumar Singh, Junior Breeder, spoke on the present scenario and potential of linseed in Nagaland, highlighting its scope for value addition and various products derived from the crop.
Farmers were also felicitated for their hard work and among them also shared their field experiences during the interaction session
Hetoli mentioned that she was initially unaware of linseed cultivation, but found the crop to be less labour-intensive. Despite the crop being new to her, she expressed excitement and appreciation towards the AICRP, Medziphema team, and showed keen interest in expanding its cultivation in the coming seasons.
Niketsuno, who has been cultivating linseed for the past few years, described the crop as cost-effective and economical and highlighted its good market value and potential for aesthetic and value-added products, expressing her enthusiasm for its future prospects.
The programme was chaired by Dr.Virosanuo Solo, Junior Agronomist, AICRP on Linseed.
Stating that the centre regularly conducts frontline demonstrations, farmer trainings, and field programmes to bridge the gap between research and field-level adoption, with special emphasis on low-cost technologies for resource-poor farmers, Dr Solo also stated that the awareness on the economic and nutritional importance of linseed to encourage its wider adoption.
This was followed by a value addition session where Dr. Anil Kumar Singh, Hoineichong Singson, and Dr Solo demonstrated linseed products with hands-on training.
The programme included a felicitation ceremony, followed by an interactive session between farmers and officials, where key field-level challenges were discussed and the event concluded with a vote of thanks and distribution of inputs to the participating farmers.
