GUWAHATI, Feb 2 � Agriculture Minister Nilamoni Sen Deka today said that the State was going to witness a boom in potato production with an expected yield of 1.90 lakh quintals from the high-quality seeds distributed by the Government.
The expected production figure excludes the yield from seeds procured by farmers on their own. The Government had distributed 75,000 quintal seeds among the farmers with the objective of enhancing potato production.
Deka, who was addressing the media on the eve of the 18th annual State-level Agri-Horticultural Show-2012 scheduled to commence at the Chandmari-based Assam Engineering Institute playground from tomorrow, said that mustard production would also witness record production in the coming days.
�Mustard production will see record yields this time. We are also working on a major project involving pulses with thrust on storage so that the farmers can sell the produce over a longer period,� Deka said.
Deka also revealed that the Government was planning to develop a Rs 100-crore terminal market on the city outskirts for addressing many of the persisting problems affecting the farmers.
To be set up on a plot of 100 bighas, the mwith all the requisite infrastructure and operate on public-private-partnership (PPP) basis. The Agricultural Marketing Board has already been asked to prepare a detailed project report in this regard.
Deka said that the Agriculture department was looking for a suitable plot in areas like Jalukbari, North Guwahati and Chhaygaon for the purpose.
On the issue of farmers not getting enough remuneration for their hard toil, the minister said that the department was contemplating interventions in the form of market linkage and storage facilities. �We are going to set up zonal markets also and provide auto-vans and mini-trucks for transportation of the produce,� he added.
The five-day horticultural exhibition has participants from different parts of the State besides neighbouring States of Meghalaya and West Bengal as well. It will have a total of 70 stalls representing self-help groups and farmer cooperatives.
The exhibition will have several seminars besides competitions on indigenous fruits and nuts, vegetables, condiments and spices, and cut flowers.
Deka said that selected farmers from different districts would also be brought to attend the seminars and workshops during the event.
A still from the film, Naukadubi.
