Itanagar: Living upto to the sobriquet “Friends of the Hill People”, the Assam Rifles’ Longding Battalion has conducted an exposure trip involving 10 shortlisted farmers from remote villages of Wancho region to Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya to create awareness among Wancho farmers to migrate them from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture.
Their tour program (May 17-19) was organised in conjunction with Wancho Farmer’s Welfare Association, a communique from Assam Rifles said on Thursday.
It said, the Wanchos inhabiting Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh have been following the age-old method of jhum cultivation practiced by their ancestors which is unproductive and detrimental to the environment. It has been felt that the Wanchos rely heavily on subsistence agriculture and were lacking awareness about latest trends and technologies in farming.
In order to understand the concerns of Wancho farmers and contribute to their capacity building, the Longding Battalion of Assam Rifles has consulted Wancho Farmer’s Welfare Association, an agriculture based NGO, Senior Scientist and Head, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Longding Dr Kiran Kumar Singh and Kanubari MLA Gabriel D Wangsu, who has expertise in farming practices.
Based on their advice, the Battalion organised the maiden tour of 10 shortlisted farmers from remote villages of Wancho region to the ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam to generate awareness among Wancho farmers to migrate from subsistence to commercial agriculture.
During their visit to the Agricultural Research Centre, the Wancho farmers were exposed to terrace farming, organic farming, medium scale piggery and poultry farming, animal husbandry and livestock management, apiculture (beekeeping) and latest trends and technologies in agricultural farming.
The Longding Battalion has now decided to organize a Farmers Mela in Longding very shortly to ensure that the majority of farmers residing in remote villages of Longding district benefit from the experiences of the nucleus of farmers who visited ICAR, Umiam, the communique added.
