Union minister reviews schemes of agriculture, allied sectors

Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today appealed to Assam agriculture department officials to put in more effort for the welfare of farmers and work in a mission mode for increasing agriculture produce and double the income of farmers.
Singh reviewed various schemes and programmes of agriculture and allied sectors here in presence of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, state Agriculture Minister Atul Bora and Fisheries Minister Parimal Suklabaidya and senior officials of Union and state governments.
"The agriculture scenario is going through difficult times and to overcome it, more efforts have to be put in by the officials so that the benefits of the different schemes percolate to the agriculture fields vis-a-vis the farmers," the Union minister said.

Exhorting the officials to chalk out an annual action plan, he said, "Officials have to go to the districts to prepare the action plan."
"If we can come all the way from Delhi to Guwahati, then the officials in Dispur have to go to the districts to assess the ground reality and to prepare the Annual Action Plan by meeting the requirements," Singh said.
Singh urged the officials to adopt latest technologies vis-a-vis mobile app, smart phones and video-conferencing instead of doing work manually to update data from the fields on a regular basis.

He called for application of bio-metrics to induce proper work culture to "bring in desired changes in our work approach".

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"Just sending proposals won't do. You have to pursue matters in right earnest and get things done...You have to think of the farmers as members of your family. With that positive mindset, you can bring about transformation in their lives and bolster the economy of the country as a whole," Singh said.
The Union Agriculture Minister said the atmosphere in Assam is "very congenial" with BJP assuming power and the officials must capitalise the situation by working on a missionary zeal to fulfil the high expectations of the people of the state.
"We must work with a missionary zeal to fulfil the high hopes and expectations the people have reposed on this new government by keeping up the tempo of development going and not let it die down. Let other states take a leaf out of Assam so far as development is concerned," the minister said.

Singh asked the officials to focus on National Food Security Mission, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, animal husbandry and veterinary vis-a-vis breeding of indigenous cows under Rashtriya Gokul Mission by setting up breeding centres, horticulture production, post-harvest management, diary development, bamboo, soil health card, farm mechanisation, soil health and e-governance.
He underscored the need for hygienic fish markets, mobile fish vans, integrating markets through a common e-trading platform and setting up cold storage chains.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal urged the officials to work with dedication, devotion and determination to fulfil the high hopes and expectations of the people.

"The people of Assam have high hopes and expectations on the new government and have blessed us profusely. We have the got the golden opportunity to serve the people in the days ahead," he said.
Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the agenda for development of Assam and the North East by focusing on making it "an organic hub of Asia", he said, "Assam is a land of potentialities and possibilities in agriculture and allied sectors."
Laying emphasis on development of agriculture and
allied sectors, the Chief Minister said, "Agriculture, the backbone of our economy, is the only way to augment our economy and to generate employment opportunities in a big way."

"There are 25 lakh educated unemployed youths in our state. We have to create avenues for employment for our youth and create opportunities for our young entrepreneurs. And to accelerate our growth, the state and central governments have to work in tandem to live up to the high expectations of the people," he said.