Port Blair, May 31: The Secretary (Agri) Shri S.N. Misra along with Director of Agriculture, Shri M.A.Salam and other officials visited Havelock and Neil Island from 25th May to 27th May, 2013.
During his visit he inspected the progress of work in respect of Agro Tourism at Coconut Plantation, Radha Nagar and reviewed the project in detail and instructed the officials to have further progress in respect of approach walkway from the fence to the main road for easy entrance of the visitors.
The Secretary also inspected the net cemented pond constructed in the farm for irrigation and other purposes. He also visited farmers’ fields and inspected the check dam near the field of Smt Noni Gopal and interacted with farmers on the use of water for irrigation to their fields. The officials and farmers apprised the Secretary (Agri) of the progress made through the check dam. In the evening, Secretary (Agri) inaugurated Kharif Campaign at Panchayat Hall at Shyam Nagar. Shri Anjan Kumar Das, Joint Director (Agri) briefed the importance of Kharif Campaign.
During the discussion, farmers raised may problems regarding their crop loss due to heavy rain and drought and stated that they are not getting any compensation. Replying to the points raised by the farmers the Director of Agriculture, Shri M.A. Salam briefed about Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme and the modified National Agriculture Insurance Scheme to the farmers for seasonal crops. He further informed that assistance will be provided based on the assessment of crop damage according to the automatic weather station installed at Neil Island.
The Secretary (Agri) made a note of all the issues and assured to take appropriate action on the issues. He also urged the farmers to place Board in front of their garden /Plantation which shall depict the availability of farm produce so that the produce can be sold without the involvement of middle-men and thus more income can be generated. At the end, Shri Manik Sikdar, Pradhan, Shyam Nagar Gram Panchayat proposed vote of thanks. Altogether 25 farmers attended the Kharif Campaign.
On 26th May, 2013, the Secretary(Agri) along with Director of Agriculture and other officials visited Neil Island and assessed the feasibility of Automatic Weather Station installed in the Agriculture farm and also assessed the installation of telescopic view point. He also inspected the farmer’s field to check the feasibility of construction of check dam. Also visited the Poly House of Shri Gurudas at Laxanpur and interacted with the farmers and shared farmers’ experience. During the entire period of visit, the Secretary reviewed the progress made by the Veterinary services such as poultry which is followed by the appraisal by Senior Veterinary Officers from both the Islands.