NEC Meeting
Ibobi calls for regional bamboo policy:
Imphal, Dec 19: The Manipur chief minister has urged the Union Ministry of Development of North East Region that a bamboo plan should be executed to increase the value addition of the bamboo resources available in north eastern region, NER through a farmer friendly regional policy, an official said Wednesday.
While urging the DoNER, Manipur chief minister O Ibobi Singh, who was participating in the North Eastern Council, NEC meeting at New Delhi, stated that the National Institute of Rural Development, NIRD has also recommended the need for special attention to the poor among the non-agricultural sector, particularly among the artisans and handloom weavers and small traders.
The two day meeting which discussed the plan size of the NEC for the next five year plan concluded yesterday.
About 17.1 percent of households in Manipur, 8.9 percent in rural and 27.8 percent in the urban, depend on non-agricultural sector for their livelihood.
"There is the need to upgrade their skill in design and finishing touch with modern machineries and equipments to increase value of their products in the market," the chief minister said.
NIRD also suggested that to organize artisans and weavers in groups for production, create yarn banks, diversity production, introduce computer aided design, improve looms and tool kits and adopt common region specific brand name.
The chief minister in his lengthy speech also suggested setting up of farming certification agency in Guwahati, and urged the DoNER to set up a unit in each district or at least one in each state capital of the northeastern states.
"The setting up of the units will facilitate access to the farmers," he observed, the official added.
Singh also suggested the need for investment on strengthening infrastructure in agriculture and allied sector and minor irrigation for better productivity and also urged all concerned that a bamboo plan should be executed to increase the value addition of the bamboo resource available in NER through a farmer friendly regional policy.
The agricultural productivity improvements and growth of non farm sectors are the sine quo non of poverty reduction, he said while extending his support to the recommendations of the National Institute of Rural Development, NIRD.
Mention may be made that NIRD recommended improving agricultural productivity by taking up remedial measures for neutralizing of soil acidity through application of lime, introduction of short duration improved seeds, commercialized agricultural production by formation of farmers SHG and introduction of suitable area specific crop combination and empowerment of farmers with techno-managerial skills.
One of the important goals of the five year plan is to reduce poverty and aim at a certain level of growth of aggregate output, GDP, as a pre-condition to alleviate poverty, Singh observed and said that several approaches have been used to alleviate poverty.
The NE states while trying to bridge the infrastructure gap with the rest of the country has been implementing several poverty alleviation programmes over the year and making efforts to equalize the inequality that exists in the region and districts in the state.
Source: The Imphal Free Press
Imphal, Dec 19: The Manipur chief minister has urged the Union Ministry of Development of North East Region that a bamboo plan should be executed to increase the value addition of the bamboo resources available in north eastern region, NER through a farmer friendly regional policy, an official said Wednesday.
While urging the DoNER, Manipur chief minister O Ibobi Singh, who was participating in the North Eastern Council, NEC meeting at New Delhi, stated that the National Institute of Rural Development, NIRD has also recommended the need for special attention to the poor among the non-agricultural sector, particularly among the artisans and handloom weavers and small traders.
The two day meeting which discussed the plan size of the NEC for the next five year plan concluded yesterday.
About 17.1 percent of households in Manipur, 8.9 percent in rural and 27.8 percent in the urban, depend on non-agricultural sector for their livelihood.
"There is the need to upgrade their skill in design and finishing touch with modern machineries and equipments to increase value of their products in the market," the chief minister said.
NIRD also suggested that to organize artisans and weavers in groups for production, create yarn banks, diversity production, introduce computer aided design, improve looms and tool kits and adopt common region specific brand name.
The chief minister in his lengthy speech also suggested setting up of farming certification agency in Guwahati, and urged the DoNER to set up a unit in each district or at least one in each state capital of the northeastern states.
"The setting up of the units will facilitate access to the farmers," he observed, the official added.
Singh also suggested the need for investment on strengthening infrastructure in agriculture and allied sector and minor irrigation for better productivity and also urged all concerned that a bamboo plan should be executed to increase the value addition of the bamboo resource available in NER through a farmer friendly regional policy.
The agricultural productivity improvements and growth of non farm sectors are the sine quo non of poverty reduction, he said while extending his support to the recommendations of the National Institute of Rural Development, NIRD.
Mention may be made that NIRD recommended improving agricultural productivity by taking up remedial measures for neutralizing of soil acidity through application of lime, introduction of short duration improved seeds, commercialized agricultural production by formation of farmers SHG and introduction of suitable area specific crop combination and empowerment of farmers with techno-managerial skills.
One of the important goals of the five year plan is to reduce poverty and aim at a certain level of growth of aggregate output, GDP, as a pre-condition to alleviate poverty, Singh observed and said that several approaches have been used to alleviate poverty.
The NE states while trying to bridge the infrastructure gap with the rest of the country has been implementing several poverty alleviation programmes over the year and making efforts to equalize the inequality that exists in the region and districts in the state.
Source: The Imphal Free Press