Meghalaya asks farmers to take up livestock farming

Sohra, May 20 : Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today suggested farmers living at the southern slope of the state and those with similar soil and harsh climatic conditions to take up livestock farming to improve food security and the economic livelihood of the people. Mukul was addressing at a farmers' festival titled 'Technological options in livelihood security for the tribal farmers' organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) here. As an introductory offer to the farmers, the Chief Minister handed over to farmers, a pair of Emu birds besides piglets, fingerlings, poultry birds and horticultural seeds. The flightless birds were brought all the way from Switzerland and are renowned for their resistance to diseases and can survive in harsh climatic condition, he said. Asserting that his government is trying its level to make 'farming and living in rural areas' more attractive, Mukul said, "We have identified various development and livelihood programmes to, side by side, uplift the economic standard and increased food security in the state. “Good economy is to ensure that people have better per capita income which in turn increase gross domestic product (GDP). Its only when we stabilize our economy then will can achieve sustainable growth”, he said. In view of the increasing population, the Chief Minister said it is necessary to increase productivity and food production. Pointing out that a lot advanced technologies linked to agriculture are being taken up, he said these are done to make farming an attractive profession for youths in the state.