JORHAT, Nov 8 � Hundreds of farmers in Upper Assam were motivated to go for high-yielding seeds of various food crops during an interaction programme with a successful cultivator belonging to the Lakwa area of Sivasagar district, held at the Regional Agricultural Research Station under the Assam Agricultural University in Titabor recently.
The research station observed a �farmers� day� on Wednesday during which Irrigation Minister Dr Ardhendu Kumar Dey, AAU Vice Chancellor, cultivators and agricultural experts were present. �About 1,200 farmers were present on the occasion. Successful farmer Tileswar Handique shared his experiences in the scientific cultivation of crops with them,� said agricultural scientist Dr Sanjai Chetia. Handique earns around Rs 1 lakh every month from his agricultural produce cultivated only on 14 bighas of land, said Dr Chetia.
He has planted spices like black pepper, vegetables and banana plants at his homestead and is also engaged in piggery and fishery. Many AAU scientists expressed the opinion that Handique may inspire the new generation of farmers.
�The interaction with Handique has motivated us to produce more in a few bighas of land,� said a young cultivator who started farming after completing his MA in Social Science. Several other farmers also said that the AAU and government officials concerned should hold such awareness programmes in the remote locations of the State where large-scale agriculture has been going on without proper guidance and consultation with agricultural scientists.
�We request all the experts and the officials concerned to organise such programmes in those areas which are yet to be sensitised in respect of scientific cultivation with high-yielding seeds,� said a farmer.