With an object to study the cultivation of Buckwheat and other Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in Sikkim, a team of Agriculture Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Nagaland led by Dr. I. Amenla, Joint Director, ATMA visited Sikkim from 19th to 25th April 2022.
During the Study cum Exposure tour, the team visited a farmer’s field at Pepthang, Lingmoo under Lingmoo-Payong Gram Panjayat Unit (GPU) where they were briefed by the field functionaries under the Agriculture Department and ATMA (South) about the various agricultural practices including animal husbandry like cattle rearing, backyard poultry, and goatery.
Later, the team visited the buckwheat field of Bijay Kumar Subba, a progressive farmer of South Sikkim who shared his knowledge and experiences on buckwheat cultivation. The visiting officials interacted and queried on the various aspects of buckwheat like cultivation techniques, post-harvest processing, value addition, marketing avenues, etc.
The following days, the Agricultural Officials paid a courtesy call to the Krishi Bhawan, Govt. of Sikkim, Tadong where they interacted with the Director, SAMETI, Sikkim, and senior officials of the Agriculture Department. During the interactions, the team was briefed about the role of SAMETI and ATMA Sikkim in uplifting the farmer’s income and other flagship programmes under the Agriculture Department, Govt. of Sikkim.
The Nagaland Officials later visited the Farm School on Integrated Organic Farming System (IFS) at Tshalamthang, Benphegu GPU where the farm school teacher Ruphan Lepcha shared his vast experiences in the Integrated Farming practices and credited ATMA Sikkim for playing a pivotal role in uplifting his economic condition as well as recognition in the state. The Farm School has been adopted by Ganga Prasad, Governor of Sikkim.
Winding up with the tour, Dr. I. Amenla, Joint Director, ATMA Nagaland on behalf of the visiting team thanked the officials and farmers of Sikkim for making the exposure tour a fruitful and successful one.
(DIPR)
