By Asem Bhakta
IMPHAL14July
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday flagged off the first air shipment of the year of 2020-21 of 1.2 MT of locally grown organic pineapples at a function held at the Bir Tikendrajit International Airport here today.
The officials of the State Horticulture Department were present at the event. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the State would become self-reliant only if a thrust is given to increase the production of agricultural and horticultural items.Stating that the farmers should not worry about finding a market for their produce, N. Biren Singh, who also holds the Horticulture and Soil Conservation portfolio, assured that the government would buy all their horticultural produces.
A corpus fund of Rs 3 crore had already been created for this purpose, he said.Referring to Prime Minister Manipur CM flags off air shipment of organic pineapples Narendra Modi’s ‘Vocal for Local’ slogan, he opined that the State needs to work hard to upgrade indigenous and local produces to the global standard.
This would serve as a lucrative means for generating income for farmers and the people of the State, he said, adding that the government would extend all possible support to hard-working farmers.For the third consecutive year, the Manipur Organic Mission Agency on Sunday started export of locally grown organic pineapples weighing around 1.2 MT out of targeted 220 MT to different cities through air cargo following a rise in its demand over the past few years due to its unique taste.In last two years, the agency exported 250 MT of organic pineapples to cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Chandigarh,Mumbai, etc.
Considering the progress made in the organic sector in the recent past, the Central Government had approved 25,000 hectares and 50 Farmers’ Producer Companies (FPCs) for
organic farming of ginger, turmeric, kiwi, passion fruit, pineapple, king chillie, chakhao, HYV paddy and maize from 2020-21 to 2022-23 under the CSS “Mission Organic Value Chain Development of NER’ (MOVCDNER).
Later, the Chief Minister, accompanied by State Planning Board Deputy Chairman S Rajen, MLA Th Satyabrata and other officials, distributed power tillers, tractors, brush cutters, quality planting materials, etc., to FPCs under Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) and progressive farmers under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) at the Directorate of the Horticulture and Soil Conservation at Sanjenthong, Imphal.
