Sarbananda Sonowal emphasises on use of advance tech to enhance agri production

GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today emphasised the use of advanced scientific technologies to enhance agricultural production in the state.

"I urge the farmers of the state to take a pledge to adopt new scientific methods of farming for strengthening their economic condition," Sonowal said while inaugurating the Fourth Assam International Agri-Horticultural Show here.

He called for focus on scientific study of soil and asked the agriculture department to support farmers with valuable inputs for increasing their production without disturbing the ecological balance.

"We want to grow economically without destroying the ecology. Assam government will give priority to organic farming to maintain the ecological balance and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also outlined his vision of making North East India an organic hub," he said.

The state government has recently launched the Chief Minister's Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana to double the farm economy in the state by investing Rs 1.2 crore in each revenue village and in the next five years, around Rs 30,000 crore would be invested in 24,000 revenue villages under this scheme.

The Chief Minister said the government was committed to strengthen the agriculture sector to attract the new generation to take it up as a calling and assured the farmers that Minimum Support Price of their production would be ensured.

Sonowal asked Assam Agricultural University and agricultural scientists to discover new variety of seeds that can be harvested twice during the post monsoon season, considering the limitation of cultivation period in the state which was affected by recurrent floods.