TEZPUR, July 14 - Member of Parliament from Tezpur, Ram Prasad Sharma has said that farmers of the State are facing many problems and their future does not look positive. Inaugurating an agricultural exhibition-cum-fair organised at Napam Krishi Vigyan Kendra near here on Monday, the he said that the majority of the land in the State is owned by the small and marginal farmers, who practise subsistence agriculture and have very little connection with the market.
The farmers are also hampered by low level of capital, coming from low credit availability. The level of mechanisation, fertiliser usage and irrigation in the State is also very low, which prevents the farmers from increasing their yield as well as improving the cropping intensity. This is the reason that although of late, the State has managed to become self-sufficient in rice production, there is still a significant shortfall in the production of wheat, oilseeds and pulses, a gap which is increasing rather than decreasing. Further, as rice is the main crop of the State, in the present scenario of depressed prices of rice coupled with low average yield, low cropping intensity and a lack of diversification as well as the possible adverse impact of the new WTO Agreement on Agriculture, the future of the farmers of the State does not look positive.
Touching upon environmental degradation in the region, he said that because of the massive construction works undertaken in different wetlands by different agencies including the Army, environmental problems have been growing day by day and many aquatic animals are killed, harming the ecological system of the region.
Dr Hemendra Bhattacharya, Extension Education Director, Assam Agricultural University in his speech stated that KVK is a part of agricultural university where many scientists are involved to take agricultural activities forward. He said that there are 640 KVKs in India and in Assam 125 KVKs have already been established till date and as part of it, the Napam (Tezpur/Sonitpur) KVK established in 1980 has been involved in the development of the farmers through skill development training, demonstration etc. The function was attended by the Director of Student�s Welfare, Tezpur University, Deben Baruah, Dr Kishor Kumar Baruah, of the Regional Agricultural Research Centre, North Lakhimpur, among others.
Earlier, Programme Coordinator, KVK, Sonitpur, Dr PC Deka in his welcome -address highlighted the achievements of Sonitpur KVK till date. The event conducted by SMS Agronomy, KVK, Anjanjyoti Sarma was attended by many NGOs, progressive farmers of the district, and a good number of public from the local area. Popi Bora, Sonitpur KVK subsequently offered the vote of thanks.
