Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Secretary, DARE & Director General, ICAR, New Delhi, inaugurated the Administrative-cum-Training Building of KVK, Nimbudera on May, 6th 2024, in the presence of Dr. V.B. Patel, Assistant Director General (Fruits & Plantation Crops), Dr. Pradip Dey, Director, ICAR-ATARI, Kolkata, and Dr. E.B. Chakurkar, Director, ICAR-CIARI, Port Blair.
Hon’ble DG urged the farmers to seize the available opportunities and embrace scientific methods to boost their income. In the present scenario, traditional farming methods are no longer profitable. It is crucial for farmers to embrace new varieties and scientific management practices, as well as explore food processing and marketing options. KVK will showcase innovative techniques to enhance production and increase income. With knowledge and expertise, farmers can cultivate in a more efficient manner. The Andaman region is blessed with abundant biodiversity, unlike other parts of the country. He also advised farmers to replace traditional varieties with new ones developed by scientists, as the improved varieties yield four times more.
Dr. V.B. Patel, ADG (F&PC) highlighted the importance of KVK providing various training programs to farmers in Agriculture, Animal Science, Fisheries, and other related fields to boost production and income. Implementing scientific methods in crop cultivation can significantly increase earnings from horticultural crops. Dr. Pradip Dey, Director, ICAR-ATARI highlighted the importance of KVK in assisting the farming community of North and Middle Andaman. Dr. E.B. Chakurkar, extended a warm welcome to the esteemed guests and highlighted that the North & Middle district is renowned for its significant contributions to rice, plantation, and fruits and vegetable production in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. DG also visited progressive farmers field and the Karen community at webi village and interacted with them. Dr. V. Damodaran, Senior Scientist and Head, proposed vote of thanks. The programme was coordinated by Dr. S. K. Zamir Ahmed, Principal Scientist and Head of the Division of Fisheries Science.