IIT Guwahati hosts sensitisation programme, buyer-seller meet for pearl farmers

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: A one-day sensitisation programme cum buyer-seller meet for pearl farmers was organised at the School of Agro & Rural Technology (SART), IIT Guwahati, bringing together 19 farmers from Nagaon district under the HDFC Parivartan-funded Sustainable Bio-Resource Innovation Programme (SBIP).

SART’s Principal Investigator for the programme outlined the institute’s vision of driving technology innovation for grassroots communities, and said the integrated pearl production initiative would strengthen livelihoods for local farmers.

The Project Head of SART’s HDFC CSR initiative gave an overview of the project’s interventions and interacted with participating farmers to understand their farming capacity, cost-benefit outcomes and future plans. Niraj Pathak, Regional Head-North Rast(HDFC CSR), and project manager Nandita Das also engaged with the farmers, enquiring about the scope, feasibility and market potential of pearl farming in Assam, besides the quality assurance and grading systems in use.

Rulen Hazarika, a progressive farmer from Nagaon, presented an overview of pearl farming practices in the area, showcased pearls produced on his own farm, and spoke about feeding, production and marketing.

The project’s expert team held discussions with farmers on the challenges they face, revealing a mortality rate of around 40 per cent among cultivated pearls and limited market access. Participants were later taken on an exposure visit to the NEHHDC incubation centre at Bamunimaidam, Guwahati.

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