IMPHAL, NOVEMBER 10: Union Agriculture and farmer Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Thursday announced setting up an Integrated Bee Keeping Development Centre (IBDC) in Manipur soon.
The minister mad e the announcement considering the “substantial and concrete opportunities for be keeping industry in NE states” while addressing the inaugural function of the regional agriculture fair 2016-17 at the Central Agricultural University in Imphal.
The National Bee-keeping Board has initiated a sustainable programme for ‘awareness creation’ and potential-building for the development of beekeeping in the country.
Radha Mohan assured that the infrastructure required for the growth of scientific beekeeping will be made available at the proposed IBDC at the university’s campus at Eroishemba near here.
Considering the ‘unlimited potential’ for agriculture in the northeast region to grow, he said that the centre was ‘focusing exclusively on the development of agricultural sector’ and that the government was implementing agriculture-related programmes in said areas.
On the development of soil health for better agricultural practices, minister Radha Mohan Singh expressed unhappiness at the report that only about 3302 soil health cards against the requirement of 1,14522 farmers in Manipur were distributed.
Further, the minister informed that the budget for ‘agriculture education’ for the northeast state was just Rs 150 crore but was increased to Rs 170 crore during 2014-2015. Similarly, there has been an unprecedented enhancement of almost Rs 500 crore (32.8%) for agricultural research budget which is now is Rs 2020 crore for 2016-2017.
There is an addition of almost Rs 90 crore (13.6%) as compared to the previous year in agriculture extension which has gone up to a sum of Rs 750 crore.
Also the university’s vice chancellor Dr M Premjit Singh said that the existing 33 years old agriculture university in Manipur was the biggest agricultural varsity in the country. It has 13 colleges under it. Earlier there were only seven agriculture colleges.
Dr Premjit said that around 2000 farmers including 70 from other northeast states had been taking part in the three-day regional agriculture fair.
