Guwahati: Minister Pijush Hazarika Pushes Agri Growth Roadmap

GUWAHATI: In a major push to transform Assam's rural economy, Agriculture, Irrigation and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika on Thursday chaired an interface meeting organised by Assam Agricultural University (AAU) and the Agriculture Department at the Assam Administrative Staff College. The meeting, described as the first of its kind, brought together academicians, agricultural scientists, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), NABARD and officials from allied departments such as Fisheries, Irrigation, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry, Horticulture and Sericulture to chart a collaborative roadmap for modernising the state's agriculture sector.

Addressing the gathering, Hazarika said Assam's contribution to India's agricultural exports remains low despite the country exporting tea, meat, fish, fruits and vegetables worth billions of dollars. He stressed the need to boost production and make Assam self-sufficient in eggs, fish, poultry and pork so that dependence on other states can be reduced.

Highlighting that nearly 75 lakh people in Assam depend on agriculture, the minister underlined the need to expand irrigation coverage, which currently reaches only about 24 per cent of the state's agricultural land. He also called for a shift from traditional low-profit paddy cultivation to high-value horticulture and cash crops such as areca nut, litchi and black pepper.

He urged AAU experts to help identify region-specific crops and develop climate-resilient seeds and saplings to make Assam's agriculture more productive and commercially viable. (DIPR)

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