ICAR officials along with farmers during a training on plant genetic resources held at KVK Peren on January 21.
Peren, January 21 (MExN): The ICAR–Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Peren, in collaboration with the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry (CoVSc&AH), Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Jalukie, on January 21 successfully organised a one-day training programme on “Use of Plant Genetic Resources as Ethno-Veterinary Medicine for Management of Animal Diseases in North East Regions of India (under NEH Sub-Plan)” at the KVK Peren office in Jalukie.
The programme, which was chaired by Dr Prashant Kalal, Subject Matter Specialist (Fruit Science), KVK Peren, was sponsored by the ICAR–National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi, under the NEH component. Farm inputs were also distributed during the event.
Dr K L Meena, Principal Scientist and Head, KVK Peren, and programme coordinator, delivered the welcome address, facilitated the guests and briefed the participants on KVK activities and the NEH component. He also expressed gratitude to the Director, ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi, for sponsoring farm inputs for farmers of Peren district under the NEH component.
Guest of honour Dr Pardeep Kumar, Senior Scientist (Molecular Biology and Biotechnology), ICAR-NBPGR, addressed the farmers and explained the mandated activities and role of NBPGR in conserving plant germplasm to ensure the country’s food security.
Another guest of honour, Dr Jameel Akhtar, Principal Scientist (Plant Pathology), ICAR-NBPGR, highlighted the NEH components and their benefits for farmers of the North East region. He encouraged farmers to adopt sustainable management and utilisation of plant genetic resources to prevent genetic erosion of plant germplasm.
Col Mohit Kumar Bansal of the 9th Assam Rifles, Jalukie, Government of India, who attended the programme as special guest, urged farmers to effectively utilise various agricultural schemes to enhance production and productivity. He lauded the role of farmers in ensuring food security and contributing to the economy, and appreciated KVK Peren for supporting the farming community through training programmes, technology demonstrations and input distribution.
Technical sessions followed, during which Dr W Ramdas Singh, Assistant Professor (Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology), CoVSc&AH, CAU (I), Jalukie, delivered a lecture on “Ethno-Veterinary Medicines for Sustainable Livestock Management,” while Z James Kikon, CTO (Soil Science), KVK Peren, spoke on “Judicious Usage of Farm Tools and Implements”. Dr Prashant Kalal delivered a lecture on “Crop Protection Measures in King Chilli”, while Dr Akshay Ujjwal, SMS (Agronomy), KVK Peren, spoke on “Integrated Farming Systems for Livelihood Improvement”.
This was followed by a farmer–scientist interaction session during which KVK Peren scientists addressed issues and challenges faced by farmers. The farmers actively participated in discussions on animal disease management, crop protection and integrated farming systems.
Farm inputs including knapsack sprayer pumps, garden pipes, tarpaulin sheets, pruning secateurs, spades, sickles, hand bags and hand shovels were distributed to all participating farmers of Peren district.
A total of 114 farmers from various regions of Peren district participated in the programme.
