BTAD region has enormous potential for lac cultivation: AK Jaiswal

From our Correspondent

KOKRAJHAR, May 4: The Principal Scientist of the Indian Institute of tural Resins and Gums (IINRG), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, mkin, Ranchi in Jharkhand Dr. AK Jaiswal who visited lac cultivation sites in Chirang district on Monday, said that Assam, especially the BTAD region, had enormous potential for lac cultivation.

Talking to media persons at Aiepowali in Tukrajhar area of Chirang district, Jaiswal said the region had tural advantage for lac cultivation. “The soil and climate are suitable here for production of lac and there are lots of tural palm trees which are unused. If these are reaped properly, there are vast opportunities,” he said and added that he was quite impressed to see the viability of lac cultivation to sustain the economy. Jaiswal said lac, a tural resin of insect origin, was a means for livelihood for resource-constrained farmers living in forest and sub-forest areas of India.

Dr Kameswar Das, scientist of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Chirang said the KVK had been inspiring the unemployed youths for carrying out lac cultivation. He said that KVK had been extending technical support to farmers, besides helping the farmers for sustaible development. Dr. Alok Kumar, Senior Scientist of Indian Institute of tural Resins and Gums (IINRG) said he had been looking after the projects of lac cultivation in the north-eastern region. He said that lac cultivation in Chirang, despite being new, had become a success. He said lac cultivation by the unemployed youths was encouraging.

The Principal Scientist and other senior scientists from IINRG, Ranchi in Jharkhand and KVK visited Aiepowali, Shantipur and Deosri.  The scientists were accompanied by the members of Aie Valley Lac Producers and Allied Marketing Cooperative Society Ltd.

A group of young farmers of Chirang district is concentrating on lac cultivation by forming a society called Aie Valley Lac Producers and Allied Agro Marketing Cooperative Society Limited in 2014 with Dominic Basumatary as chairman and Kamal Basumatary as secretary.  An eight member group of young farmers received training on lac cultivation at Indian Institute of tural Resins and Gums, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (IINRG), mkin, Ranchi in Jharkhand recently. The technical experts from the institute have already visited the sites of production of lac in Chirang district and hinted said the region had huge potential for lac cultivation.

Talking to media persons at Aie Powali, one of the project sites in Chirang, the chairman of the Aie Valley Lac Producers and Allied Agro Marketing Cooperative Society Ltd., Dominic Basumatary said people of the region had no idea about lac culture despite the areas having vast potential for lac cultivation. He said the merits of lac cultivation included suitable for rain-fed areas, ensured production even in drought condition, easy marketability, high return with low investment, low risk, less manpower and time devotion, non-perishable cash crop, facilitate conservation of biodiversity, little interference with agricultural and horticultural crops and even degradable land can be utilized for lac cultivation.

Basumatary, who started lac cultivation in his residential compound, said that lac cultivation had maximum opportunities for earning than cultivation of rubber, tea and other cash crops. He said the region had vast potential with tural plum trees which were not being used by the people.

He said the society had already cultivated lac in Aiepowali, Kagrabari in Shantipur, Runikhata and Aiedubri in Chirang district and they were looking for expansion of lac cultivation. He also said the society received 1.5 tonnes brood lac from IINRG, Ranchi, Jharkhand after the first week of February and the brood lac would be distributed among 150 farmers for cultivation in their respective sites. Besides, the beneficiaries under their society will get spray machine, scrapping knife, secateurs, aspic rocker, indoxacarb and bavistin for pesticides control.

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