Workshop on farm-based activities for self-employment

Staff Correspondent

Shillong, June 13: A one-day follow up workshop for Training of Rural Educated Youth for Self Employment through Farm-based Activities (TREYSEFA) for certificate holders was organised by the state department of Agriculture today at the Integrated Agriculture Training Centre (IATC), Upper Shillong.

KN Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya and Agricultural Production Commissioner, Meghalaya graced the occasion as the chief guest. The programme was also attended by several senior state government officials and bank representatives.

Speaking on the occasion, Kumar said that the follow up workshop is very essential for the Agriculture department to get first hand information from certificate holders and also to know through their experience so as to enable the department to assess the success and failure, if any, in the implementation of the scheme.

Pointing out that agriculture continues to be the dominant sector of the state economy, Kumar urged the department to intensify the capacity building training for rural educated unemployed youths in farm-based activities so that the rural youths may be gainfully self-employed through agricultural and allied activities.

With a view to enhancing the skill of the youth, Kumar advised the certificate holders to form an association to take entrepreneurship to the next level to create more employment opportunities in the field of agriculture, taking advantage of the various schemes initiated by the government.

The topics for the daylong session included ‘Current and Emerging Opportunity for Rural Youth in Agriculture and Horticulture and Food Processing Sector’ and ‘Access to Finance for Rural Enterprises’.