North East India region has some of the Indian sub-continent’s last remaining rain forests which supports diverse flora and fauna and several crop species. All the increase in production and productivity is no good to the farmers if they cannot sell their produce in the market at a fair price.
To showcase the best agricultural practises of farmers in NEIndia which would enhance food security a three day event was organised at Guwahati by Caritas India N E Zone from October 26 to October 28. The event brought together farmers and their concerns to focus.
Present status of the economy of North East India is basically agrarian and ensuring food security through our products can give impetus to healthy living said Winangson Sangma from BAKDIL, Tura, from the State of Meghalaya.
Mr. Navam George , Mr.Techi Zill and Mr.Techi Kuka from Arunachal Pradesh are of the opinion that, “Since the economy of the NE region is essentially agro-based the development of agricultural marketing system bears considerable importance.”
According to Nelson Mushahary a farmer from Bongaigaon, “The north eastern states have observed high production of fruits, spices and cashew in the recent past but could not fetch market price to the farmers at par with the markets in the other states. The topography of the NE states is also not favourable for the movement of the products. Besides, the infrastructure, procurement practices, marketing approaches and processing facilities are major constraints in the rural marketing in the NE region”.
Rural development through agriculture to enhance food security is a prioritized objective of NE India. In this regard a lot needs to be done especially through establishing market linkages, financial assistance, technology extension services and communication networks.. An integration of these key factors will certainly result in food security.
