Image: Northeast Now

The district Agriculture department of Assam Chirang on Saturday started distribution of sali paddy seedlings of high yielding variety to the flood-affected farmers free of cost.

This has been done with an aim to minimize the adverse effects of flood and COVID-19 pandemic as well as for encouraging the genuine farmers to continue their cultivation.

On the occasion, the additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Rinkhang Mushahary ceremonially distributed 240 bundles (30 dangris) of seedlings among the three badly flood-affected farmers under Community Nursery Programme of RKVY Disaster Management Project 2019-20 in the presence of Amrit Lal Narzary, district agriculture officer, senior agriculture development officers Burlungbuthur Narzary, Paresh Ray and other officials of Agriculture department at their Kashikotra Seed Farm premises.

Expressing his view before the farmers present on the steps being taken by the Agriculture department for distribution of paddy seedlings to the flood-affected farmers, ADC Mushahary said, “The Agriculture department would normally distribute seeds and seedlings among the farmers through sub-division and district level offices, but during this crisis period the department has taken up extra initiative for distribution of seedlings by reaching out physically to the farmers especially of the flood-affected areas to cope with their agricultural-related shortages due to flood in the district.”

The department has been really striving hard to increase the production level of various crops including food crops, and to achieve this objective the department is implementing a number of schemes sponsored by the state and central government with sensitizing farmers about the advantages of adopting latest technology to enhance the production, he further informed.

The agriculture officers informed that they have got an adequate quantity of seedlings in the stock as they have raised submergence-tolerant rice variety at other places too in addition to this farm which shall be distributed to the flood-affected needy farmers in the near future.

Besides the distribution of paddy seedlings from the departmental farms, the department has also issued different kinds of seeds, machinery, power tillers, tractors etc to genuine farmers, agricultural field management committees and self-help groups, the officers added.

Rinoy Basumatary is Northeast Now Correspondent in Kokrajhar. He can be reached at: [email protected]