
Morung Express News
November 21
DIMAPUR: The central team comprising of Dr. Kuril, Director NOVOD Board under Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, Dr. D. Rao, Scientist (Entomology) ICAR, Nagaland center and a host of officers from department of Agriculture have made an extensive survey of the Jatropha plantation areas of Dimapur district on November 21 covering a net plantation area of 100 hectares spreading over 4 blocks of the district.
According to Dr Supong Keitzer, Director of Agriculture, the team observed that intercropping jatropha with Jhoom rice including maize and soybean was found to be promising. According to Dr Kuril, cultivation of Jatropha (a bio diesel producing plant) can be the only viable alternative to the ever-decreasing resource of fossil fuel and said that India is already spending one-third of the country’s GDP in the import of the petro- diesel annually. He added that cultivation of Jatropha could be a very good source of income and employment generation to the rural unemployed youth of the state.
The state department of Agriculture has taken up strategy to go for expansion of area under this programme where unproductive and marginal lands will be utilized. A number of backup nurseries are being raised in different location of the state, which will be transferred to the main field in the coming season. The team will also visit other district in the state within the next few days, according to the Director.