ICAR Nagaland Centre organises Oilseed Kisan Mela in Medziphema to boost regional production and farmer incomes.
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DIMAPUR — The Oilseed Kisan Mela-cum-national seminar on “Sustainable pathways for scaling oilseed production in the northeastern region of India” was organised by the ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Nagaland Centre, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad, at the ICAR Nagaland Centre in Medziphema on March 13.
According to an update, the programme was attended by Advisor for Agriculture Mhathung Yanthan as the chief guest. He stressed the importance of oilseeds in ensuring food security and improving farmers’ incomes.
He urged farmers to expand oilseed cultivation, improve yields, and strengthen market linkages. He also stressed the importance of soil health cards, improving jhum farming systems, and promoting research and demonstrations to enhance oilseed production in hilly areas.
Dr. Dipak Sinha, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University, encouraged farmers to adopt oilseed cultivation as a profitable farming option.
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Dr. Harendra Verma, Scientist at the ICAR Nagaland Centre, spoke on bridging the gap in oilseed production in Nagaland. He suggested utilising rice fallow lands for cultivating crops such as linseed, toria and sunflower. He highlighted high-yielding linseed varieties LSL-93 (for seed purposes) and Priyam (dual-purpose for seed and fibre), along with sunflower variety Tilhan Tec SUNH-1.
Dr. Ramesh, Principal Scientist at ICAR-IIOR, stressed the importance of maintaining soil health and advocated the use of organic fertilisers over inorganic ones. He encouraged the use of farmyard manure.
Dr. Md. A Aziz Qureshi, Principal Scientist at ICAR-IIOR, discussed the scope of oilseed cultivation in the biodiverse state of Nagaland. He pointed out that soil acidity is a major limiting factor affecting productivity and stressed the importance of soil health management. He recommended crops such as linseed, castor, niger and toria for acidic soils and highlighted practices like liming.
Krishna Kanta Bora, State Organising Secretary from Assam, encouraged the empowerment of self-help groups to generate income through oilseed cultivation.
Dr. Girish Patil S, Director of the National Research Centre on Mithun, highlighted the growing demand for edible oil in India and stressed the need to increase domestic oilseed production. He also highlighted the establishment of local oil expellers to reduce transportation costs.
A total of 227 farmers participated in the event along with representatives from the Agricultural Technology Management Agency, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, state departments and scientists.
During the inaugural session, quality seeds of sesame and green gram, along with vermicompost, were distributed to farmers by the chief guest.