ITANAGAR, 18 Jan: Kanubari MLA Gabriel D Wangsu advised the officers of the horticulture directorate to take up horticulture schemes from the marketing point of view for the benefit of farmers and suggest best-suited crops to them in order to strengthen their economy.
Wangsu was addressing a review meeting on implementation of centrally sponsored schemes and state plan schemes of horticulture department in all the districts. The meeting was convened by Agriculture Minister Tage Taki here on Monday.
Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Bidol Tayeng briefed about the status of fund against schemes and requested all the district horticulture officers (DHO) to “maintain actual area and production data of the existing crops in their respective districts.”
Presenting the status of ongoing schemes, the DHOs informed that some of the schemes could not be completed on time due to the lockdown owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as imposition of the election model code of conduct. They, however, assured to complete the remaining ongoing schemes within this fiscal.
Discussions were also held regarding ways to check opium cultivation. The DHOs were requested to develop a surplus amount of fruit seedlings which would be planted during ensuing Vanmahotsav.
Minister Tage Taki in his address requested all the DHOs/PIAs to complete the ongoing works at the earliest, and asked the officers to work out alternatives to barbed wire fencing with low-cost live fencing.
