IMPHAL, February 4: The Central Agricultural University today organized a one day awareness program on tuber crops based farming system for sustainable production and income generation at Lukhambi, Tamenglong district.
Dr AK Bijaya Devi, PI AICRP (TC), CAU, Imphal Centre in her key note assress said the tuber crop farming system is practiced on a national level. She said, ” The rapid change in climate has affected the production of principle food crops like wheat and as such, scientists are researching ways to increase the production of Tuber crops in the state and see if it would be feasible for it to replace the principle food crops.”
She further added that in around 15-20 years, the production of wheat and other principal crops will decrease tremendously and people would fall back to tuber crops which would then need to increase production, she added.
Tuber crops has all the needed nutrients and properties to replace rice as our major food item which is also suitable with the soil of Manipur, she said.
Identifying Tamenglong as one of the most suitable kind of soil in the state, she added that it would be easy to increase the production of tuber crops in the district.
Local MLA Janghemlung Panmei, the Chief guest of the function said the production of rice is low in the state and is not even sufficient for the state. Tuber crop is considered as a main crop in several countries including America, Africa, Russia etc, he said.
CAU Dean Dr N Iboton Singh asaid agriculture can solve the problem of unemployment in the state. However, the state faces a lot of water problems. He added that production of Pineapple, U-morok and Banana is high in Tamenglong and this can be utilized to garner employment in the district.
Change in climate has decrease production of food grain, though population has been rapidly increasing, he added. Production of tuber crops should be increase so as to meet all such issue, he said.
Mentioning that tuber crops are rich in vitamin A and is good for the health, he assured farmers that if they manage to increase the production of tuber crops, he would provide them with buyers.