Shillong, May 18: Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Giriraj Singh on Wednesday visited the piggery, poultry and dairy farms of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) at its research complex for NE region at Umiam, to witness the pig breed Lumsniang developed by the Institute.

He was accompanied by Arpit Upadhyay, Deputy Commissioner, Ri Bhoi District and Giri Prasad M, Superintendent of Police, Ri Bhoi District, Meghalaya.

In his address as chief guest, Giriraj Singh highlighted the inevitable challenge of food security in the coming years because of the exhaustive population pressure of the country. Reminding the gathering about the contribution of the Green Revolution in the country, he remarked “but still today we are in dire need of producing more food grains with better yield.”

A holistic integrated approach is the need of the hour for bringing about any development in an aspirational district like Ri Bhoi, he said and called upon the ICAR and CAU-College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences to work in collaboration keeping in mind the farmers’ needs first.

“Focus should be on taking the research outputs from lab to field,” he stressed and suggested the need to popularize Moringa (Drum stick) plantation as it has carbon absorption potential if we are to develop carbon neutral villages in the country.

The chief guest concluded his address by saying that the country and its villages will be prosperous only when the farmers will prosper and that is if they fetch more economic returns from their harvest, they can again use their income for more agricultural activities.

The scientist of the institute also had an exhaustive interaction with the Minister on the 17th evening at CAU-CPGS AS along with the staff of the concerned Institute regarding various issues pertaining to agriculture and allied sectors particularly livestock and fishery.