Discussions were held on the development of the North-East specific crop varieties, popularisation of integrated farming system, stemming of decline in the North-East livestock population
The 25th Regional Committee Meeting of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research for eight North-Eastern States of India (Zone – III) was held recently.
Delivering the inaugural address, Kailash Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare highlighted the importance of agricultural development in the North-Eastern States for the overall development of the country. The development of the North-East specific crop varieties, popularisation of integrated farming system, stemming of decline in the North-East livestock population, farm mechanization and building awareness on FPO formation for the region’s development was emphasised by the Minister.
Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & DG (ICAR) underlined the major issues of the region and highlighted the significant achievements of the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sector of North-East India. The supply-demand gap of meat and milk in the region was outlined by Dr Mohapatra.
Earlier, Sanjay Garg, Additional Secretary (DARE) & Secretary (ICAR) delivered the welcome address.
Dr VK Mishra, Director, ICAR-North-Eastern Hill Region, Umiam, Meghalaya presented the action taken report of the previous RCM Meeting. Dr Suresh Kumar Chaudhari, Deputy Director General (Natural Resource Management & Agricultural Engineering), ICAR delivered the vote of thanks.
Dr Shiv Prasad Kimothi, ADG (Technical Coordination), ICAR along with the Senior Officials of ICAR Headquarters & its Institutes and Agriculture, Horticulture, Livestock and Fisheries Department, Government of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura attended the meeting.
The meeting was aimed at providing a forum to the Agricultural Researchers, state government functionaries and other stakeholders to discuss the gaps and priorities of the agricultural research, education and extension for the next two years.
