Organic farming has assumed new importance in present times. Use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers in agriculture is causing health problems. People are becoming increasingly conscious of their health and even in Assam organic farming has picked up. — Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, May 27: “If Assam has to develop in the true sense of the term, people’s income should increase and this is possible only when there is development in every sector,” said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. He was addressing a gathering during the inauguration of the Organic Agricultural Products Market Complex at Sixmile in Guwahati today.

Chief Minister Gogoi further said, “Farmers play a crucial role in any State’s economic growth. Hence the Assam Government has always stressed on agricultural development. It is because of the hardwork and efforts of the farmers of the State that the Union Agriculture Ministry gave the best performance award for the year 2010-11 to Assam.”

“It is true that farmers are not getting proper prices for their agricultural products and because of this, a sense of disillusionment has crept into the minds of many farmers. But we should not let this happen. We should ensure that farmers get proper price for their products. We have to give them proper facilities for marketing their products. The Congress government has been trying to deliver all this. Of course, in order to enhance agricultural production, farmers have to go in for new technology,” said Gogoi.

“Organic farming has assumed new importance in present times. Use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers in agriculture is causing health problems. People are becoming increasingly conscious of their health and even in Assam organic farming has picked up. The government will give more thrust on organic farming and we intend to train farmers in organic farming. This will help check the rampant use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The setting up of this organic agricultural products market complex is a move in the right direction,” added the Chief Minister.

The marketing hub for organic agricultural products at Sixmile has been set up at the initiative of the Department of Agriculture and the Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board on approximately 3.5 bigha land. The total cost of the project is Rs 7 crore. The market complex has facilities like a vegetable grading and auction yard, a godown, a ventilated godown, a cold room, a banana ripening unit, a covered parking yard, a grading and auction yard for fruits and flowers, a retails market yard for fruits, vegetables and flowers, a retail market for day-to-day consumables, an electronic auction hall, a training hall and even a restaurant.

Speaking at the inaugural function, State Agricultural Minister Nilomoni Sen Deka said, “With the setting up of this organic agricultural products market complex, a new chapter in agriculture has started and we hope to bring in a revolution in the agricultural sector. The department has given a proposal to the government for setting up organic farming centres in all the 126 legislative assembly constituencies (LACs) of the State. For this we have set up some committees and these committees will submit their reports in 1-2 months. Once the reports are submitted, within August to November of this year the 126 organic farming centres will be set up.”