DIMAPUR, July 24 - Nagaland Governor PB Acharya on Monday rued the absence of a cooperative system or movement in the State for farmers to help sell their produce.
The Governor said this while recalling his visit to a remote village in Mon district bordering Myanmar. He pointed out that though the residents of the remote village, who have no access to basic amenities like water, electricity, roads, etc., produce high-quality organic produce such as cardamom, ginger, etc., they have to sell their stuff at throwaway prices due to absence of any marketing facility.
Acharya was speaking at a conference on �Start-ups and Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises in Food Processing� held at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research � the National Research Centre on Mithun � at Mediziphema, 23 km from here.
Asking the Naga youths to become entrepreneurs, the Governor reiterated that the State does not have sufficient avenues to employ the educated unemployed. He rued that though Nagaland is rich in terms of natural resources in the North East region and academically on top, it does not have any revenue of its own.
The Governor blamed the existing system in the government departments which, he said, have failed to encourage the youths to take up entrepreneurship.
He stated that though there are 15 nationalised banks operating in the State, they do not have any branch in the districts, except in Dimapur and Kohima. He urged the bankers to open branches in the remote areas to help villagers.
According to the Governor, the ICAR and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) can be a large pillar of development for the State. The daylong conference was jointly organised by the ICAR, Small Industries Development Bank of India, Ministry of Food Processing and ASSOCHAM.
