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Monday, December 2, 2013

CM stresses on need for large cardamom rejuvenation

GANGTOK, 01 Dec: “Sikkim is struggling to overcome the terminal viral disease that plagues large cardamom in the state and the yield per hectare has suffered over the years,” highlighted Chief Minister Pawan Chamling while addressing the inaugural function of the North Academic Block of the College of Agriculture Engineering and Post-Harvest Technology [CAEPHT] on 30 November.
The Chief Minister urged the University to support the state government in working out short-term and long-term programmes for rejuvenating large cardamom in the state.
He also urged the scientific officers and research scholars to work in close coordination with the state government for rejuvenation of large cardamom in the state.
“Sikkim is the largest producer of large cardamom in the country and we must bounce back to the position of pre-eminence as far as its production is concerned. This will provide us a more concrete and defined road-map ahead for development of agriculture sector in Sikkim”, he said.
Agriculture has remained our priority even though the state government has diversified economic activities including promotion of service sectors, eco-tourism, hydro-power generation, etc. Agriculture in Sikkim still depends largely on traditional technologies and remains therefore at a subsistence level, limited area of cultivable land, smaller land holdings, difficult hilly terrain, diverse agro-climatic conditions, low farm income and limited supportive infrastructure are the bottlenecks for development of agriculture sector in the state, he underlined.
Sikkim produces variety of food crops including cereal, pulses and oilseeds, horticulture crops consisting of fruits, vegetables and flowers, root and tuber crops, spice crops, aromatic and medicinal crops, large cardamom and orchids besides, dairy, poultry and fisheries products, informed Mr Chamling.
“Through specific research schedules we can zero in on our competitive advantages and promote sustainable economic activities for our people based on our geography and our agro-climatic condition. Technological advances with supporting services, supplies and policies could further enable us to become a developed state”, he further added.

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