Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, NOVEMBER 6
Farmers are switching to horticulture crops, thanks to increase in demand for horticultural products, increase in the market value of the horticultural crops due to their high nutritional value, and the increase of health conscious among the people, an official from the center has said.
For a hilly state as Nagaland, horticulture is the answer which will provide more employment opportunities and high economic returns for the local people, the official, advisor for Horticulture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Mamta Saxena has said.
The advisor said that the production of horticulture crops nationally has surpassed that of agriculture food grains out of just 12% of the land. This is a great achievement, she said.
Saxena was addressing a workshop on Horticulture Area Production Information System (HAPIS) that was conducted in Hotel Vivor in Kohima town on Friday, November 6. The event was organized by the Directorate of Horticulture.
The official said that farmers were now switching to horticulture crops. This, she said, was due to the increase in demand for horticultural products and increase in the market value of the horticultural crops due to their high nutritional value. Likewise, the growth of health consciousness among the people is making horticulture products popular, she said.
Nagaland being a hilly state, Mamta said, horticulture is the answer which will provide more employment opportunities, and high economic returns for the local people. She urged Horticulture officials and Data Entry Operators (DEOs) to take keen interest in the various schemes being launched by the Ministry of Agriculture.
However, Saxena also pointed out that the ultimate beneficiaries would be farmers, and that the role of the state government and the officials was to ‘try and ensure that these schemes reach and benefit the ultimate beneficiaries.’
Saxena also informed that although production of many fruit crops in Nagaland was low as compared to other hilly states of North East, the production of pineapple was ‘astronomically high’ in the state.
From the 800 hectares of land, the production has been 80,000 metric tonnes, which comes to 100 metric tonnes per hectare, she said. In this regard, she encouraged the people of the state to take up other crops wherever the soil, season and climate is suitable for it.
Also stressing on the need for correct and accurate information for the success of any policies and programmes in the state, the Advisor said ‘we are living in an era of information today’ where information are available at a click of a button, and that accurate information is a very important aspect of it.
Therefore, Saxena said the central government has developed a program called HAPIS, a simple device system device which would enable officials to immediately enter data and information from the block or district level.
Delivering the keynote address, Rakesh Vardhan Technical Director, National Information Centre (NIC) New Delhi said the objectives of officials does not remain only with the entry of data, but to get themselves into the subject and try to monitor the quality of the data which is being entered, to ensure that the data entered are correct and accurate.
He also informed that the need to have ICT system has come up due to the fact that many are reluctant to feed the data, and particularly from North Eastern states, he said there is very, very less data under any schemes.
‘Until and unless you understand the usefulness of a system, you will never appreciate why it should be implemented’ stated Rakesh and added that If anybody wants to have a complete and accurate vertical, horizontal monitoring and transparent monitoring, it has to be the system, without which, he said it is impossible.
He informed the gathering that the centre has identified 4-5 states that are lagging behind for a personal visit and interaction with the people from the department and try to understand their problems and resolve it.
He also informed that it has evolved a single window system which would allow farmers to apply online when there are any provisions, and this format though small, he said it would captures all the vital credentials of the farmer, which will also be taken up very soon in the state too.
The inaugural program was followed by technical session and discussion headed by the resources persons from New Delhi.
Horticulture Area Production Information System (HAPIS)
• Horticulture Area Production Information System (HAPIS) is a web enabled work flow based system for state,
• District and block level officials which will be monitored at central level. Similarly state can also monitor the data
• Submitted by district and block level officials.
• Effective progress monitoring by providing data reporting status and auto email or SMS alert to state/district officials
• In case of delayed or non reporting of data to ensure timely submission of data.
• The system will provide online interface to enable crop-wise data-flow from block to district, district to states and
• There-on to the centre after consolidation, validation/verification by states/districts.
• Data entry by district/block as per the prescribed format for selected crops only.
• Facility to compare current data with past data.
• Provision for query report and various summary reports as per requirement in various combinations of state, district,
• Crop, year, quarter, week and estimation stage.
• Provision of weekly data entry interface for weekly area sown and quarterly data entry interface for quarterly area sown
