ICAR Manipur Centre, MOMA ink MoU for promotion of organic farming

IMPHAL, Jun 23
ICAR Manipur Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA), Department of Horticulture and Soil Conservation in a ceremony organized at ICAR Manipur Centre, Lamphelpat, Imphal today.
The MoU was signed by MOMA Mission Director K Debdutta Sharma and Director of ICAR NEH Region, Meghalaya Dr VK Mishra.
As per a statement, under this historical MoU, MOMA will identify and nominate suitable officers within the Department of Horticulture and Soil Conservation and Department of Agriculture and suitable persons among its service providers under MOVCDNER.
 The statement further informed that ICAR Manipur Centre will provide advanced training to the identified persons on the scientific and emerging technologies in organic farming in order to bridge the gap in knowledge and skill and to make the trainees more competent for implementation of MOVCDNER.
This is an endeavour for effectively promoting organic farming in the state, the statement added.
In his presidential address, Dr Vinay Kumar Mishra, Director, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Meghalaya stated that North East is said to be organic by default but this is actually due to the wisdom of the farmers which has been carried over from generation to generation. He expressed that Manipur has many unique GI crops and efforts must be made to explore the export potential of these crops in the international market. He also mentioned that this MoU is an initiative to deliver the right scientific technology and practices for making organic farming successful.
Dr I Meghachandra Singh, Joint Director, ICAR Manipur Centre mentioned that the Centre has been assisting and supporting the agri-horti and allied departments of the state and also makes best efforts for solving the problems of farmers of the state.
As a part of the programme, agro inputs, namely, bee box, honey extractor, water pump, farm tool kits and nano urea were distribute to the farmers and beneficiaries of STSC and MIDH programmes.
At the function, K Debdutta Sharma said that MOMA is an implementing agency of Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER).
Saying that MOMA has been striving to make certain areas in the State as a hub of organic production, he added that MOMA takes technological support and input from ICAR in implementing MOVCDNER.
Other dignitaries present include Addl Chief Secretary P Vaiphei; Honey Chara, Director, Department of Horticulture & Soil Conservation; Pramod Choudhary, General Secretary, Bharatiya Agro-Economics Research Centre  among others.