Sohra, May 20 : Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma
today suggested farmers living at the southern slope of the
state and those with similar soil and harsh climatic
conditions to take up livestock farming to improve food
security and the economic livelihood of the people.
Mukul was addressing at a farmers' festival titled
'Technological options in livelihood security for the tribal
farmers' organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR) here.
As an introductory offer to the farmers, the Chief
Minister handed over to farmers, a pair of Emu birds besides
piglets, fingerlings, poultry birds and horticultural seeds.
The flightless birds were brought all the way from
Switzerland and are renowned for their resistance to diseases
and can survive in harsh climatic condition, he said.
Asserting that his government is trying its level to
make 'farming and living in rural areas' more attractive,
Mukul said, "We have identified various development and
livelihood programmes to, side by side, uplift the economic
standard and increased food security in the state.
“Good economy is to ensure that people have better per
capita income which in turn increase gross domestic product
(GDP). Its only when we stabilize our economy then will can
achieve sustainable growth”, he said.
In view of the increasing population, the Chief
Minister said it is necessary to increase productivity and
food production.
Pointing out that a lot advanced technologies linked to
agriculture are being taken up, he said these are done to make
farming an attractive profession for youths in the state.