UMIAM, Feb 28 � All North Eastern states, except Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim, have recorded a surplus foodgrain production last year.
Agricultural scientists have set themselves another target to make the entire region self sufficient in agricultural produces by 2020.
�Except Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim all North Eastern states have recorded surplus foodgrain production in the recent past,� SV Ngachan, Director Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) North East, said here today.
He was speaking at the inaugural two-day National seminar on �strategies for climate resilient agriculture in northern region� here at the ICAR complex.
Giving details of a few states, he said, Assam produced a surplus foodgrain of 5 million metric ton last year - an increase of 1.3 million ton from the previous year. Similarly, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are producing surplus foodgrain.
The increase in foodgrain production is a combination of a good monsoon and also infusion of better technology in the fields, the ICAR director pointed out. Now the goal, he said, is to be self sufficient in all agricultural and livestock production by 2020. �By 2020 the North East must be self-sufficient from all fronts. Several steps are being taken to achieve that objective,� Ngachan said.
About Meghalaya, Ngachan said that the state is trying its best to increase agricultural production through many schemes.
