25th Regional Committee Meeting of ICAR held
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, December 11 2021: The 25th Regional Committee Meeting (RCM) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for eight north-eastern states of India (Zone III) was held on Saturday through virtual mode.

The meeting was aimed at providing a forum to agricultural researchers, government functionaries and other stakeholders to discuss the gaps and priorities of agricultural research, education and extension for the next two years.

In his address, minister of state for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Kailash Choudhary highlighted the importance of agricultural development in NE states for overall development of the country.

He further emphasised on development of northeast specific crop varieties, popularisation of integrated farming system, stemming of decline in NE livestock population, farm mechanisation, and building awareness on FPO formation for development of the region.

The Union minister also urged the agricultural scientists to give focus on mission mode programmes such as Bamboo mission, Oil Palm mission, Honey Bee mission, etc., for economic growth in the region.

DARE secretary Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, who is also the DG/ICAR, delivered a brief presentation on the theme of the meeting and apprised the panellists about the significant achievements of agriculture, livestock and fisheries sector of Northeast India while pointing out the supply-demand deficit of meat and milk in the region.

He also accentuated the agricultural scientists to align their research based on the problems faced by the farmers.

ICAR NEH director and member secretary of the meeting Dr VK Mishra presented the activities report of the previous RCM Meeting.

Out of 50 issues flagged by the NE states at the 24th RCM, majority of the issues has been solved, he noted.

The 25th RCM meeting, wherein state-wise agenda and various problems related to agriculture were discussed was attended by officials from agricultural, livestock and fisheries departments of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sik-kim and Tripura; officials of ICAR, directors and scientists from ICAR institutes, vice chancellors and officials of Assam Agricultural University and Central Agricultural University.

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