Task Force meeting concludes

Central Chronicle News
Raipur, Sep 23: The meeting of Task Force constituted for the development of agriculture, water promotion, food processing and allied sectors of Chhattisgarh State Planning Commission was held under the chairmanship of Pradeep Sharma, Advisor to Chief Minister and Chairman of Task Force.
In the meeting, the presentation of draft reports related to recommendations by nine working groups constituted under the task force namely- Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, NGGB, Cooperative, Food Processing, Agroforestry and Water Conservation was given.
Task Force Chairman Pradeep Sharma urged to identify inter-departmental subjects and make recommendations keeping in view the impact on the activities of other departments. In the meeting, it was suggested by Mrs. Chandan Sanjay Tripathi, Director, Veterinary Services that the impacts on the socio-economic condition of the farmers should also be included with the recommendations. Amalorpavanathan, Retired DMD, NABARD pointed out the need to increase the credit coverage in agriculture and allied sectors. He stressed on the need to apply latest technology in the field of animal husbandry to increase livestock productivity.
Kaushal Chandrakar, Chairman, Fisheries, Working Group informed about the immense possibilities of commercialization of fisheries in the state and said that the recent government has given the status of agriculture to fisheries as a commendable step. Dr. Neetu Gourdia, Joint Director, State Planning Commission talked about the indicator related activity and effective implementation of schemes for achieving better scores under the indicators included in the framework for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the state.
Suggestions and discussions were held for effective implementation on the ideal of four symbols of Chhattisgarh – “Narva, Garuwa, Ghuruwa, Bari, Gaon la Bachana Hai Sangwari” under the message of the ambitious plan of Chhattisgarh Government. Suggestions were given on the topics of production, promotion and conservation of narwhal water, utilization of water, biodiversity, development of gardens, post harvest management and rural industrial park.
The working group constituted on agriculture explained the need for planning and implementation in a holistic manner in the natural range by following the catchment principles for development in the agriculture sector. Under this scheme, by doing natural and organic farming, crop diversification, collection, processing, packaging and branding of products, farmers’ organizations should be made aware according to the demand of the market. Skill upgradation by training the disadvantaged sections, women and youth was said to be necessary.
Farmers can earn more profit by selling refined products instead of raw products. The need to prevent uncontrolled diversion and occupation of land, encourage collective farming, broaden the definition of farmer and land was emphasized. The working group constituted on the subject of animal husbandry talked about the use of latest technology like heat synchronization etc. for breed improvement of animals. The Director, Veterinary Services stressed on the strengthening of effective cold chain system for livestock related products and vaccines etc.
Dr. Shankar Lal Uike, Chief Executive Officer stressed on intensive activities related to animal husbandry and poultry development in Gauthan villages. In the meeting, Mrs. Chandan Sanjay Tripathi, Director, Veterinary Services, Dr. Neetu Gourdia, Joint Director, State Planning Commission, Dr. VK. Shukla, Director, Fisheries, Ms. Namita Mishra, FES, Mrs. Gopika Gabel, Dr. Shankarlal Uike, Chief Executive Officer, Chhattisgarh State Agency, Under Secretary, Agriculture, Mr. Bhupendra Pandey, Additional Director, Horticulture, Mr. Manoj Ambast, Deputy Director, Horticulture, Dr. Z.H. Shams, Dr. R.K. Prajapati, Scientist, IGKVV, S.C. Padam, Additional Director, Agriculture, R.K. Nagaria, Chief Engineer, Water Resources, Mr. Saroj Mohapatra, Pradan, Mr. Satish Awasthi, Agriculture Department, Mr. Avinash Srivastava, OSD, Apex Bank, Mr. Virendra Tiwari, Superintending Engineer, Water Resources, Mr. Shirish Kalyani, Nirja Kudrimoti and officials of the department and related institutions were present.