[ Bengia Ajum ]
NIRJULI, 13 Mar: ‘Catch Them Young’, an initiative of Animal Husbandry, Veterinary & Dairy Development Minister Gabriel D Wangsu to provide skill development training to the educated, unemployed youths of the state, was kicked off here on Thursday.
Altogether 30 trainees from 60 assembly constituencies are taking part in the training. Two trainees have been selected per constituency, and 150 youths will be trained in five batches.
Most of the youths, both male and female, who have been selected for the training are graduates, and a few have even done postgraduation. The trades for training, which include both theory and practical, are dairy husbandry, pig husbandry, goat husbandry, and poultry husbandry. The training period is 15 days, and resource persons, along with motivational speakers, will motivate the trainees.
Speaking during the launch of the initiative, Wangsu urged the trainees to take the training seriously. “The state government is extremely worried about the growing unemployment problem. This is part of our initiative to support the unemployed. We care for the youths. Now it is your turn to learn from the training and become self-employed,” he said, and also urged the officials of the department posted in the district to support farmers and unemployed youths cutting across political affiliations.
“Political affiliation should not be a criterion while selecting beneficiaries. Genuine unemployed youths and true farmers should get benefits of the government schemes,” he added.
The minister termed “breed, seed, and feed” the three important components of the agri-allied sector in the state. “The farmers, along with all the departments of the agri-allied sector, should focus on these three components. Without focusing on it, we will not make the desired progress. Poor quality breeding, seed, and feed will make farmers lose in the long run,” said Wangsu.
Earlier, attending the launch programme as a resource person, Disaster Management Director Komkar Dulom, who has started cattle farming, urged the trainees to make the best use of the training. “The government, through such training and other initiatives, will help unemployed youths and do hand-holding. But the youths also have to reciprocate and make the best use of the opportunity provided to them,” said Dulom.
He also called on them to develop patience if they are serious about becoming farmers. “You need to be passionate about what you do. Sometimes, one can lose heart when an animal dies on a large scale and crops get damaged. But at that time, one should not give up and continue the process,” he added.
Another resource person, Neelam Rani, a progressive farmer, shared her experience and offered to extend all possible cooperation to the trainees to learn more about the farming trade. Animal Husbandry, Veterinary & Dairy Development Secretary Hage Tari urged the trainees to take livestock farming seriously, as there is a huge scope for growth in this sector.
“At present, we mostly depend on neighbouring states for livestock. The demand is growing with each passing year. The people are increasingly looking for local livestock for consumption as meat. This industry will witness massive growth in coming years,” Tari said.
Animal Husbandry, Veterinary & Dairy Development Director Dr Danjan Longri also spoke.
