AIZAWL, Jan 11 � Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Food Processing Dr Charan Das Mahant yesterday reviewed the progress of implementation of various Central Government schemes such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojana (RKVY), National Horticulture Mission (NHM) and National Mission of Food Processing (NMFP), among other things, in Mizoram.
The Union Minister also paid visits to various centres of Agriculture and allied departments in the State.
Soon after his arrival at Aizawl here on Thursday, the Union Minister had a review meeting at the State Guest House Conference Hall with Mizoram Agriculture Minister R Lalzirliana, Parliamentary Secretary Lt Col (Rtd) ZS Zuala and officers of Agriculture and allied departments.
Dr Charan Das Mahant appreciated the efforts of the various line Departments in the agriculture and allied sectors and expressed satisfaction at the way RKVY was being implemented in the State.
Mizoram Agriculture Minister urged the Union Minister to take steps for the materialisation of the plan to set up a Horticulture College in the State which the Union Minister of Agriculture Sharad Power had promised during his visit to the State in 2011.
Joint Secretaries Rani Kumudini and Anuradha Prasad, who accompanied the Union Minister, spoke on the need for farm mechanisation and expansion of food processing industries in the State and promised to extend all possible help to the State Government in these two crucial areas.
The Union Minister and the later visited the College of Veterinary Sciences, Central Agricultural University, Selesih, Aizawl where he inaugurated the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and Agricultural Technology Information Centre Centre (ITAC) in the campus of the College.
The Union Minister also released a farmers� guide magazine �Kisan Diary� on the occasion. He commented that Mizoram, with its temperate climate, is highly suitable for agricultural and livestock production.
Agriculture being a significant employment generator, it is important that advances are made to modernise cultivation process and technologies. In this regard, the KVK centre should be utilised to have a wide reaching effects, the Union Minister suggested.
The Union Minster also made a brief visit to different sections of the College and also inspected the Regional Boar Semen Station at AH & Veterinary Farm, Selesih, the first in the North East. The facility is expected to be inaugurated shortly.
