Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday said that the Center and States are together engaged in the holistic development of the Northeast including Nagaland.

Tomar visited the Central Institute of Horticulture in Nagaland and inaugurated a farmer’s workshop and exhibition. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants that there should be holistic and balanced development and the benefits of the government’s schemes should reach the eligible people including farmers right down to the grassroots level, which will improve their standard of living,” the minister said at the inaugural ceremony.

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He asserted that the Central Government will continue to walk step by step and shoulder to shoulder with the states for the development of the Northeast. “It is necessary to transform agriculture into advanced farming for the benefit of the farmers in the country including the Northeast,” Tomar added.

In the programme organized by the Central Institute of Horticulture (Medziphema, Dimapur), the chief guest, Tomar said that if the Central and State Governments work together, then the results are bound to be good, and this is what is happening now.

Emphasizing increasing production and productivity, the Agriculture Minister said that the income of brothers and sisters working in the agriculture sector should also increase, for this they should shift to remunerative crops, connect with technology, bring new technology to the farmers through R&D institutions, the common farmers should get the benefit of the scientific research and government funding should also reach them.

“The Central Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi is working closely with the State Governments on all these issues,” he said.

Tomar expressed the hope that the farmers of this region will lead a new revolution in the development of horticulture.

“The Northeast region has been a victim of neglect for a long time and due to its remoteness, it became difficult to get the benefits of schemes here, but after becoming the Prime Minister, Shri Modi has constantly paid attention to getting enough funds for the development of the North-East, ensured the Union Ministers visit this region regularly, the Prime Minister himself also came here several times so that the problems of the region continue to be resolved by the Government of India,” he said.

Tomar assured that the Central Horticulture Institute will remain here, it will not shift anywhere, there will be no shortage of funds for this and the Central Government will leave no stone unturned in its development.

He said that by virtue of six agro-climatic zones with vast geographical variations present in the North-East Region, and Nagaland in particular, it has the potential to provide considerable scope and advantages for growing many horticultural crops as compared to other states.

“There are huge possibilities. Nagaland also has great potential for the export of agricultural products due to its proximity to South-East Asian countries, it is necessary to increase productivity and ensure that the quality of agricultural products is of global standards. As a result, farmers will get a good price and their financial condition will improve and the agriculture sector will also contribute more to the country’s GDP,” he said.

Further, he said that everyone is making efforts together to bring new technology to the farmers at low cost, he appreciated the efforts of the institute and the State Government in this direction.

Agriculture Minister of Nagaland, G Kaito also addressed the gathering and spoke about the development of agriculture in the state.