Shed old and adopt new agricultural methods:S S Sidhu

Imphal, Oct 6 (UNI) Manipur Governor S S Sidhu has appealed the people here to carry out new and scientific methods of agriculture for the state's development.

Inaugurating the Indian Agricultural Universities Association's regional conference here, the Governor said the state has rich tropical vegetation, exquisite scenic beauty, rich bio-diversity, rare variety of flora and fauna and cultural traditions.

He said both traditional methods and scientific mechanised cultivation with usage of high yielding variety seeds and fertiliser are practised in the state, though, the later is less dominant and is mainly confined to cash crops.

''New development strategies should be people-based, with local people planning and implementating agricultural activities, as they have better understanding of the complexities of agriculture,'' he said.

Shifting cultivation is very dominant here and the scientists were trying hard to persuade the farmers to change the old agricultural methods, Mr Sidhu added.

Horti-Afforestry approach may be highly suitable and relevant for the vast expanse of fallow and waste lands lying outside the purview of conventional forest areas, he said.

Lack of infrastructure, transportation and marketing are the major bottlenecks in the development of the region, the Governor said.

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