ZIRO, 7 Apr: Union Minister of State (MoS) for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur encouraged the farmers of Ziro Valley to emphasise more on natural and organic farming.
The minister, who was on a two-day visit here in Lower Subansiri district from 6 April, visited several key locations, including the integrated farming in Manipolyang, the integrated aqua park in Tarin, and the Shivling in Kardo.
During visit to the integrated farm in Manipolyang, the MoS interacted with the local farmers and commended the achievement of the owner of the integrated farm, Kago Kampu.
Siiro ZPM Hibu Yache apprised the minister of the challenges faced by the local farmers in terms of organic certification and marketing of their produces, and lack of cold storage facility. Thakur instructed the state’s agriculture director to look into the matter and create small units of cold storage facilities in villages to improve the marketability of farm produces.
On Monday, Thakur chaired a review meeting at the
mini-secretariat here with the district administration and heads of departments. The meeting focused on assessing the progress of various social and developmental schemes, with special emphasis on power, health, law & order, and agriculture & allied sectors.
Deputy Commissioner Vivek HP provided an overview of the district, and highlighted the potentials of the district in various sectors, as well as advancements made under various flagship programmes. Also, he showed an awareness video on ‘Plastic-free Ziro’ to the MoS and informed him how the district administration is committed to eliminate plastic waste through a community-driven approach.
Apprising the minister of the unique Apatani textiles, the DC requested him to “make orders for locally made cloths, bags, etc, from Ziro for central government-level programmes in New Delhi to boost the local textile industry.”
Thakur encouraged the agriculture and allied departments to be self-sufficient in fish, rice, vegetables and fruits production as the valley has favourable conditions for their production.
District Agriculture Officer Tasso Butung informed that the people of Ziro Valley practice the age-old fish-cum-paddy cultivation, so they do not use any fertiliser or chemical in the fields, making their fields organic by default.
Regarding law and order, SP Keni Bagra informed that all the police stations under his jurisdiction, including the women police station, are doing a commendable job, and that the disposal of women-related cases has been one hundred percent in the district. He emphasised the need for forensic labs in the state and more human resource in the police department.
