State needs post-harvest management infrastructure: APC Nagaland

Highlights several issues on development of agriculture sector in State to Union Agri officials 

Kohima, October 12 (MExN): The Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC), Nagaland, Y Kikheto Sema, on October 12, met several senior officials of the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and reportedly discussed various issues pertaining to the development of agriculture sector in the State.

According to a DIPR report,  Sema apprised Additional Secretary, Vivek Aggarwal that there is a huge requirement of post-harvest management infrastructure in Nagaland such as cold storages, pack houses, marketing facilities in the district headquarters & towns; transportation of agricultural produce etc., which can also extend services to farmers, FPOs, entrepreneurs, self-help groups (SHGs) and the community under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF). 

Although the Government of India (GoI) has allocated the funds under AIF, whereby Credit Guarantee coverage will be available for eligible borrowers upto Rs 2 crore with interest subvention of 3% per annum,  banks are shying away to come forward to give loan primarily due to issues of mortgage of landed properties, he said. 

The APC, thus, requested the GoI to simplify the procedure under AIF and to direct the banks to come forward to help the farmers and entrepreneurs, the report said. 

Aggarwal assured that he would personally look into it and advised him to identify genuine potential Entrepreneurs, farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for viable projects and willing to repay the loan, it informed. 

Sema also requested Aggarwal for early sanction of “Digital Agriculture Mission” and the latter assured to consider the same within this month, it added. 

The APC also met Additional Secretary (PMKSY), Prasanta Swain and requested him to consider enhanced allocation of Action Plan both under “Other Interventions and Micro Irrigation” as food security could be assured only through water security by creation of water bodies, ponds and channels, the report said. 

He also met the Joint Secretary (RKVY), Chhavi Jha, and apprised her that RKVY is being implemented by eight Departments and four Missions and to kindly consider enhancing allocation of Action Plan in the current year. 

Sema also appealed to her to consider supporting the new and innovative program on “Naga Model of Integrated Settled Farming” (N-IsF), as a major component under RKVY for sustainability and ecological services, where all the Agri. and Allied Departments can participate in a single cluster like that of  Business enterprise, it said. 

Already a model is being implementing at Boke-Botsa under Kohima district and it can be replicated not only North-East but all the hilly states of the country, he highlighted. 

The APC also met Rajbir Singh, Joint Secretary (MIDH) and requested him to increase the cost norms under MIDH especially for Nagaland and hilly regions of the North-East from the rest of India.

Sema also met Joint Secretary (Crops and Oil Seeds), Subba Thakur and Joint Secretary (INM), Priya Ranjan, and thanked the Union Government for providing a well-equipped Soil Testing laboratory (STL) in all the 12 districts and also Mini laboratories in all the 74 blocks in the State. 

He further apprised him that since MOVCD cannot provide organic certification to all the Block levels, creation of an Organic Certificating Agency in the State will be helpful for the farming community which can be taken up as the State has now equipped with all the infrastructure under soil Health Management programs such as STL, Quality Control Labs, micronutrients &biofertilizer production units and treatment of Acidic soil.