'Rice varietal cafeteria' inaugurated in Nazira of Sivasagar district

A CORRESPONDENT

GAURISAGAR: Sabyasachi Kashyap, SDO (Civil), Nazira inaugurated a 'Rice Varietal Cafeteria' (RVC) under Assam Agri-Business and Rural Transformation Project (APART) at Chengdhora village, under Nagaon ADO Circle in Nazira subdivision of Sivasagar district on Wednesday. RCVs are exhibitions of targeted rice varieties of a particular place and helps the farmers and other stakeholders to evaluate and select a suitable variety according to their needs, which includes climate of the place, soil quality, irrigation facilities, etc. This is the first-ever RVC inaugurated in Sivasagar district.

The agriculture department has plans to come up with two more RVCs in the district in the coming days. At today's RVC, a total of 10 varieties of rice, including hybrid as well as local, were inculcated. Kashyap himself transplanted rice seedlings with the farmers while inaugurating the programme. Underlining the importance of such programmes, he said that these kind of initiatives of the agriculture department would surely help generate interest among the youth to take up various agricultural projects as their professions. Not only the youths would become economically self-sufficient, the economy of the region too would develop if farming is practiced through proper and scientific ways, said Mr. Kashyap.

He also added that since the monsoon season has set in, such RVCs would offer farmers technical know-how about rice cultivation which would improve productivity as well as quality of the produce for them. The 'Rice Varietal Cafeteria' initiative has been found to be an effective method for disseminating high-yielding varieties and improved technologies among rice farmers countrywide. RCVs also have been found effective in generating awareness among farmers in choosing the proper methods of cultivation. RCVs are generally conducted on government land or farmers' fields where the farmers and stakeholders themselves compare and select one or more varieties that have been identified as suitable for growing on their lands.

Today's programme was organised by District Agriculture Office, Sivasagar in collaboration with Farmers information (FIAC) and Advisory CentreAgriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA), Nazira

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