ITANAGAR, Jul 21: Stating that 60 percent of the total population of Arunachal Pradesh is engaged in agriculture and allied sectors, Governor BD Mishra urged scientists and researchers to carry out diverse and extensive research that would help in transferring locally suited technology to the end-users, farmers, traders and growers.
The governor said this during a meeting with Assistant Prof Dr RC Shakywar and technical staff Arun Kumar Singh of the College of Horticulture & Forestry (CHF), Pasighat, who called on him at the Raj Bhavan here on Saturday.
Mishra suggested that specialized institutes should carry out research for increasing the local crops and fruits, and demonstrate horticultural processes for organic tea, rubber, and oil palm.
He said the scientists of institutions like the CHF, the NERIST, the NIT, and the RGU “must explore environment-friendly scientific ways and means, which will be beneficial to the last man in the queue of the agrarian community.”
As a pilot project, oil palm will be planted in the Raj Bhavan campus. “Organic pesticides and vermicompost which are locally available and eco-friendly will be used in the project,” Mishra said.
He emphasized that new and innovative technology in agriculture, horticulture and allied sectors must transit from laboratories to land.
“Such proactive role of the educational institutions in this field will facilitate the progress of our youths and the agrarian community and motivate them towards agriculture entrepreneurship, scientific and mechanized farming, organic farming, etc,” he said. (PRO, Raj Bhavan)
