Imphal: Sericulture Minister Awangbow Newmai inaugurated the ‘Cocoon Buyers and Sellers Meet Cum Exhibition 2021’on Friday in the presence of CAF&PD and Law Minister Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, Chairman, Manipur Building & Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, Heikham Dingo Singh, and MLA, Kshetrigao AC, Nahakpam Indrajit Singh.
The five-day long exhibition is organized by the Sericulture Department at Project Management Complex, Sangaipat.
On the inaugural day, the Sericulture Minister also handed over two-wheelers to selected 35 agents which will be utilized during the door to door service to the seri farmers/beneficiaries. Products including dress materials made from different types of silk and artifacts made from cocoons are displayed at the exhibition along with the cocoons brought from across the State.
The Minister also launched a website of the department www.serimanipur.nic.in during the function.
Addressing the gathering, Minister Awangbow Newmai expressed happiness that there has been an increase in the production of cocoon this year. Appreciating the department officials and seri farmers/beneficiaries, he said the credit must be given to the hard efforts of all the people involved in the seri production despite lack of manpower in the department and COVID pandemic.
Stating that giving door to door service by the agents is a big challenge as it is time bound, he was delighted to learn that maximum numbers of women agents are involved in providing the service. He said the queries and issues of the seri farmers/beneficiaries will be addressed by the agents where the two-wheelers handed over them today will be utilized during their work.
Appealing the seri farmers/beneficiaries to spread awareness regarding seri farming, he said that they need not worry or get discouraged during the pandemic as the demand for the silk is increasing day by day in the State and the country. He said the meet cum exhibition is giving them a platform to sell their products to get better prices. He also advised everyone to follow the SoP guidelines laid down by the authorities during the COVID pandemic.
CAF&PD and Law Minister, Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, in his presidential address stressed on the need to strengthen the Sericulture Department by increasing the budget allocation. He was of the view that the Sericulture Department has a lot of potential and scope to give livelihood and economic upliftment of people of the State especially in the rural areas.
Commissioner (Sericulture), Nidhi Kesarwani, in her keynote address, said that the objective of the ‘Cocoon Buyers and Sellers Meet Cum Exhibition’ is to reach out to the buyers and sellers in order to bring them at a common platform. She said the idea is to give buyers and sellers an opportunity for direct interaction to remove the middle man, so that buyers can get better raw silk material and the sellers can get a better price.
The inaugural day was also attended by officials and staff of the Sericulture Department including S Kunjakishore Singh, Director; Ch. Harendrakumar Singh, Deputy Director, among others.
