Deputy Director, Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development (DASD), Calicut, Babulal Meena, along with DC Peren, Hiazu Meru, and other officials during a site visit for the arecanut cultivation feasibility study at Ngwalwa Village, Peren on Decembr 16. (DIPR Photo)
Proposes developing the Ngwalwa area as ‘Arecanut Hub’
Peren, December 17 (MExN): A central team led by Babulal Meena, Deputy Director of the Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development (DASD), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Calicut, Kerala, along with Dr AK Sit, Senior Scientist, Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), West Bengal, and Leichombam S Singh, Scientist CPCRI, Guwahati, visited Peren District on December 16 to conduct a feasibility study on arecanut cultivation.
The team carried out site visits to the DPDB-declared Ngwalwa Arecanut Village and Heningkunglwa village, assessing current cultivation practices and local conditions, informed a DIPR report.
Following the field visits, a stakeholders’ meeting was held at the Village Council Hall, Ngwalwa, under the chairmanship of EAC Ngwalwa, Sizin Renttah. Government officials, village leaders, and local stakeholders attended the meeting.
During the session, the central team informed participants that they would recommend to the Ministry the introduction of modern production technologies, establishment of nurseries for quality planting materials, development of necessary infrastructure, and creation of marketing linkages with South India.
The team also proposed developing the Ngwalwa area, including Heningkunglwa, Ngwalwa, Gaili Namdi, Gaili, and Punglwa villages, as an Arecanut Hub, the report said.
Further, the intercropping arecanut with spices such as black pepper and cocoa was suggested to boost farmers’ income and promote sustainable cultivation practices, it added.
