Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 28
UNION MINISTER for Agriculture Sharad Pawar today said that Dimapur being an important centre in the entire northeast, if a permanent Agri Expo Centre is developed to organize this type of event every year, it will be very useful for the farming community in the entire northeast”. He was briefing media persons prior to his departure at the Dimapur Airport.
Replying to the query if the proposal by chief minister Neiphiu Rio to make the Agri Expo at Dimapur a regular affair, Pawar said the suggestion was feasible. We will give full strength and support for the proposal once we get back to Delhi, he said. Pawar further said that after visiting the stalls/site yesterday, he was convinced that the Chief Minister’s suggestion of making the Expo a permanent event was feasible. “It is our desire that this will be a regular event but we will decide whether it will be every year or once every two years”, he said. He also proposed that the timing for the Expo should be in the month of February to facilitate the participation of chief ministers from other states of the region, March being the time for assembly sessions.
“After watching and assessing the quality of goods, some investors may set up their units with the availability of raw materials and there is every possibility that some investment will come in”, Pawar also mentioned.
On the agricultural front, he said Nagaland has to develop more markets which will be useful for the entire farming community and that the growth of agribusiness in the state would invite more potential investors and buyers. He stressed on the need to develop domestic markets within and outside the North East and even in neighbouring countries.
Pawar observed that the farming community in Nagaland should concentrate in the areas of horticulture, floriculture, fisheries and diary. The minister also expressed his desire to develop a major terminal market in Guwahati which could take care of selling the produce within the northeast, within and outside India.
Stating that transport cost and post harvesting costs are the main areas of concern, Pawar said that the Ministry is looking at the possibility of providing refrigerator vans to transport goods. He also said that the Ministry will study the logistics and find ways of helping the local producers to sell their produce in such a way where they will fetch a bigger price.
With inputs from DIPR
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