Tech can bridge agri production amid population-land gap, says legislator

EMN
Kohima, June 11

The parliamentary secretary of the state for agriculture has said that the population of Nagaland will continue to grow but the land in the state will not; in this regard, there is a need to work toward stabilizing and maintaining agriculture productivity by engaging technology.
He was speaking during a meeting of the Agriculture department recently. The department reviewed its activities in the directorate of Agriculture in Kohima on June 10. Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Dr. Benjongliba Aier attended the meeting.Addressing the gathering, Dr. Benjongliba emphasized on the importance of organic production and increase production and productivity. He observed that Nagaland was still in transition where the quantum of production is still low and because of which the target to sell out local products remains at a low.
Questioning whether vision 2025 was achievable or only in paper, Dr. Benjongliba said that the population would continue to grow whereas land would not. In this regard, he felt the need to maintain productivity through application of technical know-how.
Further, Dr. Aier encouraged the department to engage inter-cropping and multi-cropping for sustainability. He called upon the agriculture officers to impart knowledge to farmers and provide to them high quality seeds. The marketing and the processing sector need to be ‘looked into’ if ‘future agriculture production is to be increased’, he said.
With regard to land encroachment in the department’s area in Diphupar of Dimapur, the parliamentary secretary said the matter would be ‘dealt sternly’.
Agriculture Production Commissioner and Commissioner & Secretary, T Imkonglemba Ao, also addressed the meeting. In his keynote address, the official called upon the officers to share their ideas ‘instead of reserving’ it so that the ideas would not become redundant. Referring to centrally sponsored programs, Imkonglemba said “As custodian of the schemes, you are supposed to guide the beneficiaries through your contributions so that productivity is converted into revenue generation”.
He also suggested multiple-cropping systems in ‘Jhum’ cultivation and advised them to make the approach ‘more attractive’.
Talking about e-governance, he advised the officers to be serious and systematic when memorandums are signed. Initially, Ao said, e-governance was to be started in 74 blocks. However, due to poor connectivity it was decided in principle that it would be started in all the sub-divisions, he said.
Further, Ao said that because of the agriculture technology management agency, there was no ‘employment problems’ for agriculture graduates. “Raise resources to sustain the available projects and don’t depend everything on the government”, he said. Both the parliamentary secretary and the production commissioner expressed desire for conducting reviews quarterly ‘for better understanding and co-ordination amongst the technocrats and bureaucrats’.
During the meeting, activities of the department were highlighted through a PowerPoint presentation.
Officers from the Secretariat and outpost officers from all the 11 districts in the state as well as officials from the directorate of Agriculture attended the meeting.