KOHIMA, OCTOBER 19: Despite noteworthy performance in food grain production in the recent years, Nagaland continues to be in the deficit in food grain. It still has very low productivity, high post-harvest losses, poor marketing system and a growing disparity in production and use of modern agricultural technology.
This concern was expressed by parliamentary secretary for Agriculture, Dr N Benjongliba Aier, during the inaugural programme of a two-day state review of activities of the department of Agriculture in Kohima town on Wednesday.
Addressing the officers, Aier maintained that inorder to have impressive growth rate in foodgrain production, there should be improvement in productivity rather than increase in the area, and also adopt the integrated nutrient and pest management system in the foodgrain production programme.
To increase agriculture productivity and sustainability in the state, Aier said, ‘land fragmentation’ and land holding systems that threaten sustainability especially the small farms, need to be addressed. He opined that the educated youth may be retained in farming only if farming becomes economically-profitable and intellectually-stimulating.
The politician suggested further that ‘semi-literates and school-drops outs’ in the rural areas need to be harnessed for agricultural production to take up agriculture as a support and may be taken up on public-private mode.
According to Aier, some of the issues and challenges that the department needs to address are promotion of rain-fed agriculture, strengthening of supply and marketing agriculture produce, low level of technical efficiency, and low farm mechanisation, among others.
Every effort should be made to generate inputs and build up a complete network of support service within each agro-climatic zone for sustainable and widespread development in agriculture, the parliamentary secretary said. He asserted the need to sensitise production patterns to changing conditions of demands.
Nagaland though endowed with rich bio-diversity, hydro potential, minerals, forest wealth etc, he said. ‘It is likely to be swamped by its negative impacts. Therefore, it is time to work on a holistic approach to agricultural development in order to resolve the problems in the state for better human development and self-sufficiency in the near future,’ he said.
In the keynote address, Commissioner-Secretary and Agriculture production Commissioner T Imkonglemba Ao called upon the department officers ‘to come out with some innovations’ and experiment for sustainability which he said would benefit farmers. Farmers comprise 70% of the state’s population, he said.
Stating that they were the key people who would decide the future of the Naga people, Ao urged them to ‘come out of their comfort zones, use their knowledge, expertise and technologies with a vision to achieve food security in the state.’
The meeting was organised to review programmes implemented by the department; to deliberate the status of sustainable development of agriculture that could possibly lead to improving farm income.
The programme saw the attendance of departmental officers from the eleven districts of the state.
